Oil up slightly ahead of long US weekend as peace efforts hold
Oil edged up on Friday ahead of a long holiday weekend in the U.S., as wary optimism held over efforts to secure peace in the Middle East between the United States and Iran. Brent futures climbed 46 cents, or 0.64%, to $72.26 a barrel as of 0407 GMT. West Texas Intermediate was up 32 cents, or 0.47%, to $69.01 a barrel.
U.S. markets will be closed on Friday ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Saturday. During the prior session, the two benchmarks hit their lowest levels since before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. Brent for the week was up 0.35% and WTI up 0.43%, the smallest weekly movements for both in months. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, stated, "It's a case of guarded optimism, with the market wanting to believe the peace efforts will hold, but it's still hedging its bets until it sees real evidence on the water." Shipping has partially resumed through the Strait of Hormuz, as called for under the initial deal between Iran and the United States, after the two countries exchanged strikes last weekend following an Iranian attack on a cargo ship. Kuwait's oil production rose sharply to 1.65 million barrels per day in June from 580,000 bpd in May. At least five supertankers carrying a total of 10 million barrels of Saudi oil have exited the Strait of Hormuz.
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Oil prices saw a slight increase on Friday as cautious optimism surrounded ongoing peace efforts in the Middle East between the United States and
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