Oil prices recorded gains in the first week of the year, supported by production disruptions in Libya and increasing tensions in the Middle East against the backdrop of the Gaza war and Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
During Friday’s trading, the price of Brent crude futures contracts rose at settlement by $1.17, or 1.51 percent, to reach $78.76 per barrel, ending the week at an increase of about 2 percent.
US crude futures also rose by $1.62, or 2.24 percent, to record $73.81 per barrel, ending the week with gains of about 3 percent.
Demonstrators in Libya disrupted supplies from the Sharara and El Feel fields, which could lead to the exit of about 300,000 barrels per day from the market. Meanwhile, the armed Houthi group in Yemen claimed responsibility for another attack on a commercial ship in the Red Sea.
Shipping giant Maersk said it would divert all its ships away from the Red Sea for the foreseeable future, warning customers of disruptions.
John Kilduff, an official at Again Capital LLC, told Reuters that a US government report showing employment growth in December will support demand next year.
US employers hired more workers than expected in December, while strong wage increases prompted financial markets to back away from their expectations that the Federal Reserve would begin cutting interest rates in March.
2024-01-06 08:49:06
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