Oil heads for sixth weekly gain amid supply concerns

Oil prices rose on Friday, set for their sixth weekly gain, amid concerns of tight supplies as major producers continue their policy of limited output increases amid rising fuel demand, News.Az reports citing Reuters. 

Brent crude futures climbed 45 cents, or 0.5%, to $89.79 a barrel at 0429 GMT, after falling 62 cents during the previous day. However, prices did reach $91.04 earlier in that session, the highest since October 2014.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 50 cents, or 0.6%, to $87.11 a barrel, having declined 74 cents on Thursday. WTI also reached a seven-year high of $88.54 earlier in the session.

Both Brent and WTI are set to rise for a sixth week, the longest weekly streak since October, when Brent prices climbed for seven weeks while WTI gained for nine.

The market is focusing on a Feb. 2 meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, a group known as OPEC+.

OPEC+ is likely to stick with a planned rise in its oil output target for March, several sources in the group told Reuters.

An increase in oil output by producer nations cashing in on expensive crude has depleted the cushion of spare capacity that protects the market from sudden shocks and raised the risk of price spikes or even fuel shortages.

News.Az 

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