Oil prices rose slightly on Friday, but suffered a weekly loss after Iran downplayed suspected Israeli attacks on its territory, an indication that an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East could be avoided.
Brent crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.21%, at settlement to $87.29 per barrel, while recording a weekly loss of 3.5%.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May delivery increased by 41 cents, or 0.5%, to reach $83.14 per barrel upon settlement, while it declined by 2.95% during the week.
The most actively traded futures contract for June delivery rose 12 cents to $82.22 a barrel.
The two benchmarks rose by more than three dollars a barrel earlier in the session after explosions were heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources described as an Israeli attack, but the gains declined after Tehran downplayed the incident and indicated that it had no plans to respond.
“The attack was just a big show, so the markets fell as quickly as they rose,” said Tim Snyder, an economist at Matador Economics.
Investors have been closely watching Israel’s response to Iranian drone and missile attacks on April 13, which came in response to a suspected Israeli airstrike on April 1 on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus.
American lawmakers included sanctions on Iranian oil exports as part of a pending aid package to Ukraine following the attack launched by Iran on Israel over the weekend.
Reuters data shows that Iran is the third largest oil producing country in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Media reported yesterday, Friday, that the International Monetary Fund expects the OPEC+ alliance to begin increasing oil production starting in July.
Prices have fallen by about 3% since Monday, and the two benchmarks recorded their largest weekly loss since February.
