WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil futures pared early gains and settled modestly higher on Friday, amid concerns about tensions in the Middle East after a report said Iran is planning further attacks on Israel.
Some positive Chinese data helped a bit in pushing up oil prices. China's manufacturing activity returned to growth in October as companies ramped up production and purchasing to meet higher demand amid improving confidence, survey results from S&P Global showed today.
The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.3 in October from 49.3 in September.
Recent data showing an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories last week supported oil prices. Oil prices were also supported by reports saying that OPEC+ may delay adding 180,000 barrels of oil monthly from December.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended higher by $0.23 or 0.33% at $69.49 a barrel, well off the day's high of $71.45 a barrel.
Brent crude futures settled at $73.10 a barrel today, gaining $0.29 or about 0.4%.
According to reports, Iran is planning an attack on Israel, using drones and missiles launched from Iraq. It is feared that any attack by Iran could trigger a wider conflict that might disrupt crude supply from the Middle East.
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