Oil prices rise amid Gulf of Mexico storm, West Asia tensions
Oil prices rose on Friday as US oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico cut more than half their output in the face of a tropical storm and as tensions continued in West Asia.
Brent crude futures were up 37 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $66.89 per barrel by 0115 GMT. The international benchmark settled down 0.7 per cent on Thursday after hitting its highest since May 30 at $67.52 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 34 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $60.54 a barrel. The US benchmark closed 0.38 per cent lower on Thursday, after marking its highest since May 23 at $60.94.
By Thursday, oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico had cut more than 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of output, or 53 per cent of the region’s production, due to Tropical Storm Barry.
