Oil prices hovered around a two-month high on Friday, with Brent crude on track for its biggest weekly jump in 1-1/2 months, supported by the prospect of an EU ban on Russian oil and the coming summer driving season in the United States.
Brent crude futures for July dipped 9 cents to $117.31 a barrel at 0247 GMT after rising to as high as $118.17 earlier in the session. The benchmark was on track for a gain of about 4% this week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 18 cents, or 0.2%, at $113.91 a barrel.
WTI is set for a weekly gain of about 0.7%. “Momentum is flat-out bullish, with many factors pointing to a tighter market, even more so with the EU on the precipice of a total ban on Russian energy,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
“Ahead of peak U.S. driving season, refined products remain in alarmingly short supply in the West, which should keep a high floor on oil prices through the summer.”
