Oil rises more than a dollar but is heading to decline for the second week

Oil prices rose by more than $1 a barrel on Friday, boosted by tight supply, although crude is heading lower for a second week amid concerns that higher interest rates could push the global economy into recession.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed’s focus on curbing inflation was “unconditional,” bolstering concerns about interest rate hikes that have weighed on financial markets.

Brent crude futures rose $1.42, or 1.3 percent, to $111.47 a barrel by 0952 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $1.29, or 1.2 percent, to $105.56 a barrel. The benchmark is heading for a decline for the second week.

Oil this year approached an all-time high of $147 a barrel, hit in 2008, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine exacerbated supply shortages while demand recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Crude oil received support from the almost complete halt in production in Libya, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, due to unrest. Libyan Oil Minister Mohamed Aoun said on Thursday that the head of the National Oil Corporation had withheld production data from him, raising doubts about the figures he released last week.

OPEC and allied producing countries meet in what is known as the OPEC + group on June 30, and are expected to adhere to an earlier plan to accelerate small increases in oil production in July and August, instead of pumping more crude.

The latest data on US oil stocks, which will give a glimpse of tight supply in the largest energy consumer, has been postponed to next week.