WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rebounded on Friday amid fears that it could take weeks to dislodge a giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal, one of the world's most critical commodity chokepoints, connecting the Red Sea with the Mediterranean.
Brent crude for May settlement climbed 2.1 percent to $63.23 per barrel, after having tumbled 3.8 percent on Thursday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 2.4 percent at $59.89 after plunging 4.3 percent the previous day.
Both benchmarks were on track for a weekly loss of about 2 percent amid rising concerns over a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and slow vaccine rollouts in Europe.
Efforts are ongoing to free the giant cargo ship blocking Egypt's Suez Canal which is estimated to be holding up more than $9bn (£6.5bn) worth of goods each day.
Officials stopped all ships entering the canal on Thursday, and a salvage company said the vessel may take weeks to free.
Expectations that the OPEC+ will likely maintain their lower production also supported prices, while the short-term demand outlook continues to get downgraded due to fresh coronavirus lockdowns in Europe.
The European Commission has warned that the European Union is at the start of a third wave of the pandemic.
France has extended partial lockdowns to three more areas of the country, with president Macron warning the 'the next few weeks will be tough.'
German chancellor Angela Merkel signaled that she would be declaring France a 'high-risk Covid area.'
Poland ordered stricter pandemic measures fir the two-week period surrounding Easter after registering a record for daily coronavirus cases for a second consecutive day.
Elsewhere, the Finnish government has submitted a proposal that would see temporary restrictions on movement in the worst-hit areas for 3 weeks.
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