Oil ends the week with gains

Oil ended the week with gains, as prices rose for a fourth day on Friday as fears of Russian supply disruptions outweighed the impact of lockdown restrictions to combat Covid-19 in China, the world’s largest crude importer, which cast a shadow on demand.
By 13:07 GMT, Brent crude futures rose $2.16, or 2.01 percent, to $109.75 a barrel, after rising 2.1 percent in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.47, or 1.40 percent, to $106.83 a barrel, after rising 3.3 percent on Thursday.
And the two crudes headed towards ending the week on the rise and recording gains for the fifth month in a row, supported by the increased prospects of Germany joining other countries in the European Union in banning Russian oil. But oil prices are still volatile, as China has shown no sign of easing the closure measures, despite their impact on its economy and global supply chains.
With regard to supplies, six sources in the OPEC Plus bloc of oil producers told Reuters on Thursday evening that the bloc will likely abide by the current agreement on production and will agree on another small increase in production for the month of June at its meeting on May 5. Meanwhile, the office of US Senator Chuck Grassley said that a Senate committee will consider, within days, a bill to allow lawsuits to be filed against the group of oil producers, which includes the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied countries, for allegedly conspiring to raise oil prices.
This comes at a time when the administration of President Joe Biden is finding it difficult to control oil and gasoline prices, which jumped due to the uncertainty about global crude supplies after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Oil prices jumped to their highest levels since 2008 earlier in the year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and remained above $100 a barrel on fears that the conflict could keep supplies tight in an already stressed global crude market.