Brent crude slightly lower, on track for weekly rise of 8%

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices declined slightly on Friday as investors absorbed the decision to resume Libyan supply to the global market following the resolution of the Central Bank crisis, after futures had surged in the previous session.

Brent crude futures for December delivery dropped slightly by 0.12% to $77.53 a barrel as of 8:07 am KSA time.

However, Brent crude is still up about 8% for the current week, marking its biggest weekly rise since early last year.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November delivery fell by 0.14% to $73.61 per barrel, although they are bound for a weekly gain of 7.31%.

Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced the lifting of the force majeure and the reopening of all oil fields and export terminals after resolving a dispute over the leadership of the Central Bank, which had significantly reduced crude output.

This comes after futures surged more than 5% on Thursday, following US President Joe Biden’s hints at possibly supporting Israel in attacking Iranian oil facilities, which could escalate the conflict in the region that accounts for the majority of global oil production.