Oil prices rise as supply concerns persist

New York, U.S. | Xinhua | Oil prices advanced on Friday as concerns over tighter supplies remain on the market.

The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery added 4.36 U.S. dollars, or 4.1 percent, to settle at 110.49 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for July delivery increased 4.1 dollars, or 3.8 percent, to close at 111.55 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The rally came despite data released Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes showing that the number of total active drilling rigs in the United States rose by nine to 714 this week.

Oil rigs in the United States rose by six to 563 this week , gas rigs rose by three to 149, and miscellaneous rigs stayed unchanged at two, showed the data.

Concerns over supply risks lingered as the European Union (EU) worked on gaining support for an oil embargo against Russia.

Last week, the EU unveiled a plan to phase out Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year, as part of its sixth sanction package aimed against Moscow.

Hungary and other Eastern European countries, whose economies are largely reliant on Russian oil, are not ready yet to accept the sanction package in its current form.

Traders also weighed risks to the demand side.

In its monthly report released on Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries revised down its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2022, citing impacts from geopolitical tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the week, the U.S. crude standard rose 0.7 percent, while Brent declined 0.7 percent, based on the front-month contracts.

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Xinhua