Oil jumps 4% on fears Suez Canal blockage may last weeks
NEW YORK: Oil prices rose more than 4% on Friday, rebounding on concerns it could take weeks to dislodge a giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal, which would squeeze supplies of crude and refined products.
Prices, however, were still headed for a third consecutive weekly loss, with the outlook for demand dented by fresh coronavirus lockdowns in Europe.
Brent crude rose $2.37, or 3.8%, to $64.32 a barrel at 10:57 a.m. EDT (1457 GMT), after dropping 3.8% on Thursday.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.38, or 4.1%, to $60.94 a barrel, having tumbled 4.3% a day earlier.
Brent was on track to end the week down 0.2%, and WTI down 0.6%, their third weekly loss.
