(MENAFN- AzerNews) Oil prices increased on Friday due to strong US demand andrising tensions in the Middle East, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $89.66 per barrelat 10.36 a.m. local time (0736 GMT), a 0.7% increase from theclosing price of $89.01 per barrel in the previous tradingsession.
The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at$84.05 per barrel at the same time, a 0.6% increase from theprevious session that closed at $83.57 per barrel.
The US, the world's largest oil-consuming country, showed robustdemand when the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)announced on Thursday that commercial crude oil stocks haddecreased by approximately 6.4 million barrels to 453.6 millionbarrels last week.
Plus, concerns over the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea flaggedsupply risks and propped prices up.
Yemen's Houthi group stated Friday that they carried out attackstargeting an Israeli vessel and multiple sites in the southernIsraeli city of Eilat.
The group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in atelevised speech that their forces successfully targeted theIsraeli ship MSC Darwin using missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) in the Gulf of Aden.
Additionally, uncertainties over when the US Federal Reserve(Fed) will start interest rate cuts continue to influence oilprices.
The possibility of a rate cut limited upward price movements, asgenerally high interest rates boost the value of the US dollar,making oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.
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