Oil prices inch down but head for weekly gains

ISLAMABAD
Crude oil prices edged lower on Friday but are headed for a weekly gain as Middle East tensions continue unabated after Israel rejected a ceasefire proposal, dealing another blow to peace efforts.
As of 1300 hours GMT, Brent, the international benchmark for two-thirds of the world’s oil, shed $0.21 (-0.26 percent) to reach $81.42 a barrel. Similarly, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the main oil benchmark for North America, went down by $0.10 (-0.13 percent) to $76.12 a barrel.
On the other hand, the price of Arab Light increased by $1.36 (+1.69 percent) to reach $81.79 a barrel. Similarly, the price of Russian Sokol increased by $1.32 (+1.80 percent) to $74.72. Following suit, the price for Opec Basket increased to $78.86 a barrel with an uptick of $0.50 (+0.64 percent).
Oil is headed for a weekly gain as Middle East tensions continue after Israel rejected a ceasefire proposal from Hamas, dealing another blow to peace efforts to end the four-month-long war.
The Israel-Gaza war, which has entered its fifth month, has kept oil prices elevated. For the week, both benchmarks are poised to gain more than 5 percent.
Despite intense US and international efforts to bring about a truce, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to dismiss such talk on Wednesday and vowed his country’s military would keep fighting Hamas in an attempt to achieve “absolute victory”.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden aimed some of his most direct criticism at Israel since it invaded the Gaza Strip in October, saying the actions of its military have been “over the top”. Biden also said he was working “tirelessly” to push for a deal that would lead to a “sustained pause” in the fighting.
In addition, crude oil futures may receive positive support if the Federal Reserve decides to lower interest rates this year, should the US economy meet expectations. The US central bank held its interest rates steady on January 31, while also affirming they will remain elevated until the central bank is confident inflation is moving closer to its 2 per cent goal.
Oil futures recorded their biggest weekly loss of over 7 percent since November last week. Brent ended the week lower by $6.22 (-7.44 percent) while WTI closed the week lower by $5.73 (-7.35 percent) on a week-on-week basis.
However, oil prices posted the first monthly gain in January since September and WTI and Brent rose 5.86 percent and 6.06 percent, respectively, on a month-on-month basis.