Oil prices rose on Friday, reversing their losses from the previous session, as concerns about supply risks continued despite the likelihood of a US strike on Iran receding.
Brent Crude was up 59 cents, or 0.9%, to $64.35 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate climbed 58 cents, or 1%, to $59.66 per barrel at the time of writing.
It comes as oil prices rose multi-month highs this week after protests flared up in Iran and Donald Trump signalled the potential for strikes on the nation. Brent prices are still set for a fourth week of gains.
On Thursday, the US president said Tehran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying worries about possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Analysts remain bearish on expectations of longer supply in the market throughout 2026 despite earlier OPEC expectations for a balanced market.
Phillip Nova, senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva, said: “Sentiment is driving markets, but the impact of headlines is always short-lived, especially when fundamentals look comfortable in the backseat.
“Despite the steady drumbeat of geopolitical risks and macro speculation, the underlying balance still points to ample supply…unless we see a genuine revival in Chinese demand or a meaningful bottleneck in physical barrel flows, oil looks range-bound, with Brent broadly hovering between $57 and $67.”
Precious metals lost some of their momentum on Friday, after a strong rally this week, with the likes of gold and silver slipping, as industrial metals such as tin and copper rise.
It comes after reports that Chinese regulators have ordered exchanges to remove servers operated by high frequency traders from their data centres.
The Shanghai Futures Exchange, a major metals trading platform, told brokers they need to get equipment for high-speed clients out by the end of the month, according to a report by Bloomberg. Other clients will need to do so by the end of April, it reported.
The news weighed on copper prices, which fell 2% this morning
4,617.80 -5.90 (-0.13%)
As of 6:55:10 GMT-5. Market open.
Prices were also lower as better-than-expected US economic data reduced bets on an early interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, which weighed on safe-haven demand.
Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer of Century Financial, said: “…Investors saw new highs in gold, which climbed to $4,656 before retreating. Gold and silver are in a structural bullish phase due to market volatility and geopolitics.”
“As geopolitical risks increase, investors typically move into safe-haven assets like gold. Key concerns include intensifying protests in Iran and growing tensions between the US and EU over Greenland, with the US sharpening its rhetoric. Moreover, the White House said that President Trump signed an order to protect the US supply of rare earths, contributing to the momentum.