Oil prices rise in the first week of the new year

Oil prices recorded gains in the first week of the year, supported by production disruptions in Libya and increasing tensions in the Middle East against the backdrop of the Gaza war and Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

During Friday’s trading, the price of Brent crude futures rose by $1.17, or 1.51 percent, to settle at $78.76 per barrel, ending the week up by about 2 percent.

US crude futures also rose by $1.62, or 2.24 percent, to record $73.81 per barrel, ending the week with gains of about 3 percent.

Demonstrators in Libya disrupted supplies from the Sharara and El Feel fields, which could lead to the exit of about 300,000 barrels per day from the market. Meanwhile, the armed Houthi group in Yemen claimed responsibility for another attack on a commercial ship in the Red Sea.

Shipping giant Maersk said it would divert all its ships away from the Red Sea for the foreseeable future, warning customers of disruptions.

A U.S. government report showing employment growth in December will support demand next year, John Kilduff, an official at Again Capital LLC, told Reuters.

U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in December, while strong wage gains prompted financial markets to back away from expectations that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in March.