Crude oil prices closed notably higher on Friday, and posted a weekly gain as well, as worries about supply following the European Union's decision proposing some of its toughest measures yet against Russia, including a total ban on oil imports.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $1.51 or about 1.4% at $109.77 a barrel, after climbing to a high of $111.18 a barrel intraday.
WTI crude futures gained nearly 5% in the week.
Brent crude futures were up $2.04 or 1.84% at $112.94 a barrel a little while ago.
According to reports, the EU is willing to exempt some central European member states from its proposed embargo on Russian oil.
A report from Bloomberg said the EU is willing to let Hungary and Slovakia continue importing Russian crude and refined products until the end of 2024. Czechia would be allowed to do the same until June 24, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the OPEC countries are against replacing Russian oil despite concerns about slower demand in China. The OPEC+ on Thursday agreed to the previous plans of increasing output by 432,000 barrels per day, ignoring calls from Western nations to hike output more.
According to a report from Baker Hughes, the number of total active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 7 this week, after an increase of 3 rigs in the week prior.
The total rig count increased to 705 this week, 257 rigs higher than the rig count this time in 2021, the report said. Oil rigs in the United States rose this week by 5 rigs to 557, while gas rigs rose by 2 to 146. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same, at 2.
