OPEC headquarters in the City Center of Vienna.
Doha: Oil prices edged up on Friday on reports Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in coming days, but record US output weighed on prices.
Brent futures were up 29 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $73.10 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 23 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $69.49. At their session highs, both benchmarks were up over $2 a barrel.
Brent posted a weekly decline of about 4% with WTI down about 3%, noted Al-Attiyah Foundation in its Weekly Energy Market Review.
On Thursday, US news website Axios reported that Israeli intelligence suggests that Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraq within days, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.
Iran and Israel have engaged in a series of tit-for-tat strikes within the broader Middle East warfare set off by fighting in Gaza.
Previous Iranian air attacks on Israel on Oct. 1 and in April were mostly repelled, with only minor damage.
Iran is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and produced about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in 2023, US Energy Information Administration data showed.
Iran was on track to export around 1.5 million bpd in 2024, up from an estimated 1.4 million bpd in 2023, according to analysts and US government reports.
Oil prices were also supported by expectations OPEC+ could delay December’s planned increase to oil production by a month or more on concern over soft oil demand and rising supply.
A decision could be made as early as this week.
Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices held steady last week as forecasts of warmer-than-average temperatures in both northeast Asia and northwest Europe capped demand expectations.
