Oil rises $2 as US sanctions, stockpile forecasts raise supply worries | Reuters

Oil rises $2 as US sanctions, stockpile forecasts raise supply worries | Reuters

Oil prices jumped $2 on Friday after the U.S. tightened its sanctions programme against Russian crude exports, raising supply concerns in an already tight market, and global inventories are forecast to decline through the fourth quarter.

Brent futures rose $1.96, or 2.28%, to $87.96 per barrel as of 0819 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.98, or 2.39%, to $84.89 a barrel. Both benchmarks had earlier hit gains of $2.

Despite fluctuations through the week in both benchmarks, Brent was set for a weekly gain of almost 4%, while WTI was set to climb over 2.5% for the week, after both contracts surged on Monday. The uptick was driven by the potential for disruptions to Middle Eastern exports after Palestinian militant group Hamas' attack on Israel at the weekend threatened a possible wider conflict.

"(A) geopolitical risk premium still lingers around the corner that is likely to support oil prices in the short-term," said Kelvin Wong, senior markets analyst at OANDA in Singapore.