Oil rises after U.S. Navy downs Iranian drone; set for weekly fall - Reuters

Oil rises after U.S. Navy downs Iranian drone; set for weekly fall - Reuters:

Oil prices rose on Friday as tensions spiked again in the Middle East after the United States said it had destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz, a major chokepoint for global crude flows.

Benchmark crude prices were still on track for their biggest weekly decline in seven weeks, however, having fallen sharply earlier in the week on concerns over global oil demand amid slowing economic growth.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 1.11 cents, or 1.78%, at $63.04 a barrel by 1037 GMT, having risen as high as $63.32. Brent fell 2.7% on Thursday, its fourth straight session of losses, and was set for a weekly drop of around 5%.

West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures were 81 cents, or 1.44%, higher at $56.11 per barrel after touching $56.36. They ended 2.6% lower in the previous session and were headed for a weekly decline of around 6%.