Black gold pushed higher on Friday, bringing Brent crude oil trade closer to $ 70 a barrel after being shown by strong data readings and strengthened expectations of world fuel demand in the third quarter.
In the European session, Brent crude futures traded stronger above the $ 69 a barrel price level, while US WTI was strong around $ 67 a barrel.
Both crude oil trades are now on track to record weekly gains of 5% to 6% following expectations that global oil demand will rebound to nearly 100 million barrels a day in the third quarter.
However, the positive picture is now overshadowed by concerns that talks between Iran and the US will revive the nuclear deal and pave the way for the lifting of oil import restrictions by Washington.
This is further exacerbated by increased supply by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its ally, OPEC+ which are committed to gradually increasing the supply of crude oil.
Meanwhile, strong economic data from the United States also helped boost current price sentiment. Jobs in the U.S. continue to show recovery, with the number of jobless claims reported falling to its lowest level since mid -March 2020.