Oil up 2.5% as no immediate #Saudi output boost expected | Reuters

Oil up 2.5% as no immediate Saudi output boost expected | Reuters

Oil was up 2.5% on Friday after a U.S. official told Reuters that an immediate Saudi oil output boost was not expected, and as investors question whether OPEC has the room to significantly ramp up crude production.

The comment during U.S. President Joe Biden's Middle East visit comes at a time when spare capacity at members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is running low. read more

"Part of the support (today) is that everybody and their brother who digs down into the Saudi situation see that they don't have a lot of capacity left," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

Brent crude futures were up $2.40, or 2.4%, to $101.50 a barrel by 12:57 p.m. EDT (1657 GMT), while West Texas Intermediate crude rose $2.41, or 2.5%, to $98.19.

Both benchmarks are on track for their biggest weekly percentage drops in about a month, largely on fears earlier in the week that a nearing recession would chop away at demand. Brent moved towards its third weekly drop, while WTI headed for its second weekly decline.