Oil prices pulled back on Friday amid concerns additional U. S. tariffs would be placed on China, trading mixed after a rally triggered by worries of more sanctions on Iran.
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Oil prices pulled back on Friday amid concerns additional U. S. tariffs would be placed on China, trading mixed after a rally triggered by worries of more sanctions on Iran.
Crude futures were on track to end the week up about 1.6 percent.
Traders said a rally on Friday was sparked by reports Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was going to give a press conference on new sanctions on Iran.
“It increases the odds that there will be less oil coming out of there,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group.
The gains from the expected news conference were curbed after reports U. S. President Donald Trump instructed aides to proceed with tariffs on about $200 billion more of Chinese products.
At about 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT) the rally began, with U. S. crude up over $1 a barrel.
Brent crude however pulled back on the reports of additional tariffs, dropping 5 cents a barrel to $78.12 by 1:03 p.m. EDT. The global benchmark fell 2 percent on Thursday after rising on Wednesday to its highest since May 22 at $80.13.
U. S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 29 cents at $68.88 a barrel after dropping 2.5 percent on Thursday.
After a volatile week, Brent was set for a 1.6 percent weekly rise and WTI 1.
