Oil prices set for second weekly decline as Trump to stay with Iran blockade
Oil prices were mixed on Friday, but set for their second weekly decline, as the US plans to continue its Iranian blockade, reducing the chance of renewed large-scale fighting that could disrupt Middle East supplies, though attacks on shipping remain a danger. Brent futures were little changed, down 1 cent at $95.41 a barrel at 0242 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined by 20 cents, or 0.25%, to $88.52 a barrel. Friday’s declines reversed two days of gains amid a volatile trading week with earlier hopes for a rapprochement of the US-Israel war against Iran, now in its ninth month, offset by strikes on Saudi Arabian infrastructure by Yemen’s Houthis and attacks on tankers transporting crude out of the Gulf.