WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices moved higher on Friday, extending gains from previous session, as an escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran raised concerns about a disruption in global crude supplies.
Easy monetary policies from central banks to boost growth, a larger than expected fall in U.S. crude stockpiles last week and expectations that OPEC and allies will consider extending output reduction beyond June, contributed as well to oil's uptick.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for August ended up $0.36, or 0.6%, at $57.43 a barrel.
On Thursday, WTI crude oil futures for August settled at $57.07 a barrel, gaining $3.10, or 5.7%, the biggest single-session gain since December 2018.
Oil futures climbed by about 9% in the week.
Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday said crude stockpiles in the U.S. declined by about 3.1 million barrels last week, nearly three times more than analysts' forecast for a 1.1 million barrels drop.
According to a report in the New York Times, U.S. President Donald Trump had approved targeted military strikes against Iran in retaliation for Iran shooting down a U.S. drone on Thursday, and then backed out.
Iran seems not keen on peace talks, Reuters reported, citing Iranian officials that Trump had passed a message to Tehran via Oman warning that an attack on Iran was imminent.
'He gave a short period of time to get our response but Iran's immediate response was that it is up to Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei to decide about this issue,' an anonymous Iranian official told the news agency.
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