Doha: Oil prices settled nearly 2% higher on Friday and notched their first weekly gains since mid-April as a US trade deal with the United Kingdom turned investors optimistic ahead of talks between top officials from Washington and Beijing.
Brent crude futures rose $1.07, or 1.7%, to settle at $63.91 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced $1.11, or about 1.9%, to settle at $61.02, noted Al-Attiyah Foundation in its Weekly Energy Market Review.
Week-over-week, both benchmarks gained over 4%.
US President Donald Trump on Friday said China should open its market to the US and that an 80% tariff on Chinese goods “seems right,” a day after he announced a deal lowering tariffs on British car and steel exports, among other agreements with the UK.
Meanwhile, rising hostilities in the Middle East also boosted oil prices last week.
Israel’s military said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards its territory, days after Oman mediated a ceasefire between the US and Yemen’s Houthis, who claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
Still, the outlook for oil prices remains uncertain and will largely depend on the trajectory of the US economy, its trading policies and the enforcement of sanctions on Iran and Russia.
On Thursday, the US imposed sanctions on a third Chinese independent oil refinery for purchases of Iranian crude, ahead of a fourth round of nuclear talks in Oman this weekend.
Keeping a ceiling to oil price gains this week was the planned increase to oil output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+.
Asian spot LNG prices saw a modest increase this week, following gains in European gas markets driven by the EU’s move to phase out Russian gas supplies.
However, analysts expect prices to ease in the coming weeks as Chinese demand continues to remain subdued.
The average LNG price for June delivery into northeast Asia rose to $11.50 per mmBtu, up from $11.00 per mmBtu the previous week.
While overall Asian LNG demand has been on the rise, Chinese demand has stayed muted, supported by robust domestic gas production and stable pipeline imports.
High spot prices have also discouraged additional purchases from price-sensitive buyers like India.
In Europe, the price movement comes in the wake of an announcement by the European Commission, which is set to propose legal measures next month to eliminate all Russian gas and LNG imports to the EU by the end of 2027.
