|
Prices, however, were still headed for a third consecutive
weekly loss, with the outlook for demand dented by fresh
coronavirus lockdowns in Europe.
Brent crude rose $1.18, or 1.9%, to $63.13 a barrel by 1122 GMT,
after dropping 3.8% on Thursday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up
$1.25, or 2.1%, at $59.81 a barrel, having tumbled 4.3% a day
earlier.
Both benchmarks were on track for weekly losses, following a
more than 6% decline last week.
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Friday operations to free
the stranded container ship would resume after completing
dredging operations, which are 87% complete.
The salvage company said on Thursday dislodging the ship could
take weeks.
Of the 39.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of total seaborne
crude in 2020, 1.74 million bpd went through the Suez Canal,
according to tanker tracking firm Kpler. Additionally, 1.54
million bpd of refined oil products flow through the canal,
about 9% of global seaborne oil product trade, Kpler said.
Reeling from the blockage in the Suez Canal, shipping rates for
oil product tankers have nearly doubled this week, and several
vessels were diverted.
The oil markets were also lifted by worries over escalating
geopolitical risk in the Middle East. Yemen's Houthi forces on
Friday said that they launched attacks on facilities owned by
Saudi Aramco.
Expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and its allies will likely maintain their lower
production also supported prices.
Acting a week ahead of the OPEC+ meeting, Abu Dhabi National Oil
Company (ADNOC) has deepened crude oil supply cuts to Asian
customers in June to 10%-15% from 5%-15% in May, several sources
said.
(Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo; editing by
Jason Neely)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
