Oil Prices Rise Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions© ndtv.com

Oil Prices Rise Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions

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Oil prices inched up in early Asian trading hours on Friday, holding on to their strong weekly gains, as investors weighed the Middle East conflict and the potential disruption in crude flows against an amply-supplied global market.

Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.12%, to $77.71 a barrel as of 0010 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 8 cents, or 0.11%, to $73.79 a barrel.

Both benchmarks were on track for weekly gains of about 8%.

President Joe Biden said on Thursday the US was discussing strikes on Iran's oil facilities as retaliation for Tehran's missile attack on Israel. The comments contributed to a 5% rally in oil prices.