Oil lingers near six-week highs amid Gulf of Mexico storm, Middle East tensions - Reuters

Oil lingers near six-week highs amid Gulf of Mexico storm, Middle East tensions - Reuters:

Oil prices hovered near six-week highs on Friday and was on track for a weekly gain as U.S. oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico cut more than half their output because of a tropical storm and as tensions continued to simmer in the Middle East.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 57 cents, or 0.9%, at $67.09 per barrel by 0642 GMT. The international benchmark settled down 0.7% on Thursday after hitting its highest since May 30 at $67.65.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures were up 46 cents, or 0.8%, at $60.66 a barrel. In the previous session, the U.S. benchmark rose to as much as $60.94, its highest since May 23. 


Brent prices have climbed 4.4% this week, while WTI prices rose 5.4%. Both the benchmark crudes posted declines last week.