Doha: Oil prices settled slightly higher after a wild trading session on Friday, popping up as media reports said US air strikes on Venezuela could begin within hours and then retreating after US President Donald Trump issued a denial on social media.

Brent crude futures settled at $65.07 while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $60.98. For the week, Brent rose by 1.3% and WTI fell by 0.8%.

The US has deployed a task force centered around the nation's largest aircraft carrier, Gerald Ford, off the coast of Venezuela, far beyond the needs of attacking drug traffickers on small boats, the focus of US naval activity in the Caribbean in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, may reduce its December crude price for Asian buyers to multi-month lows, sounding a bearish note.

Asian spot LNG prices held steady last week, amid tepid demand and healthy inventories in the region.

The average LNG price for December delivery into north-east Asia was $11.10 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), down from $11.20 per mmBtu last week, industry sources estimated.

Prices are expected to hold steady as weaker gas-fired utilisation and softer industrial gas demand in China, combined with above-average Japanese LNG inventories in December. LNG stockpiles of major Japanese electric utilities were at 1.97 million tons, above the 1.84 million tons at October-end last year.

In Europe, the Dutch TTF price settled at $10.46 per mmBtu, recording a weekly drop of 3.8%.

Brent crude futures settled at $65.07 while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $60.98. For the week, Brent rose by 1.3% and WTI fell by 0.8%.

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