Oil Set for Strong Weekly Gain
Crude oil traded above $97 per barrel on Friday and was on track to gain more than 6% for the week amid mounting supply concerns in the Middle East. The US Central Command confirmed that a Singapore-flagged container ship that sank in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week was hit by an Iranian projectile, adding uncertainty over the recovery of physical oil flows and pushing tanker rates to record highs. Rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen further heightened supply risks. Meanwhile, the IEA agreed to proceed with the release of the remaining 100 million barrels of oil from a coordinated intervention launched in March, following lobbying efforts by US officials. Elsewhere, EIA data revealed that US crude inventories dropped by 8.6 million barrels last week, marking their largest decline since February. WTI was also poised to outperform Brent for the week, supported by lower shipping costs for US crude, which boosted demand for American barrels.
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Crude oil traded above $97 per barrel on Friday and was on track to gain more than 6% for the week amid mounting supply concerns in the Middle East. The US Central Command confirmed that a Singapore-flagged container ship that sank in the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week was hit by an Iranian projectile, adding uncertainty over the recovery of physical oil flows and pushing tanker rates to record highs. Rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen further heightened supply risks.
Meanwhile, the IEA agreed to proceed with the release of the remaining 100 million barrels of oil from a coordinated intervention launched in March, following lobbying efforts by US officials. Elsewhere, EIA data revealed that US crude inventories dropped by 8.6 million barrels last week, marking their largest decline since February. WTI was also poised to outperform Brent for the week, supported by lower shipping costs for US crude, which boosted demand for American barrels.