Oil prices are rising due to supply threats after drone attacks on oil fields in Iraqi Kurdistan.
This is reported by Economic Pravda with reference to Reuters.
Oil prices rose on Friday as the market reacted to a series of drone attacks on oil facilities in northern Iraq, as well as to the increase in demand typical of the summer season.
The report said that as of 04:51 GMT, Brent crude futures rose by USD 0.29 (0.40%) to USD 69.81 per barrel.
WTI futures rose by USD 0.27 (0.42%) to USD 7.81.
The report said four days of drone attacks that knocked out half of Iraqi Kurdistan's oil production caused prices to jump USD 1 on Thursday.
Production in the region has fallen from 280,000 barrels per day to about 140,000-150,000.
Energy industry officials have pointed to Iran-backed groups as possible perpetrators, although no one has claimed responsibility.
In parallel with geopolitical risks, seasonal travel demand also supported the market. JPMorgan analysts said that average global oil demand in the first two weeks of July was 105.2 million barrels per day, up 600,000 from a year ago.
The decline in US inventories was also larger than expected, according to official data, due to rising exports.
Asian refineries that resumed operations after scheduled maintenance added support to demand in the region.
ING analysts predict that in the short term, fundamentals will remain favorable and the market will be "tight" at least until the end of the quarter.
At the same time, uncertainty around US tariff policy (changes are possible no earlier than August 1), as well as expected production increases from OPEC+ producers, may contribute to market weakness in late summer.
Despite the instability, Iraqi Kurdistan announced plans to resume exports via an oil pipeline to Turkey after a two-year hiatus.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, oil prices rose on July 11 after US President Donald Trump said he would make an announcement on russia, increasing the likelihood of imposing new sanctions on the major oil producer, although concerns about tariffs and rising OPEC+ oil production restrained growth.
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