WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rose on Friday, but were on track to post their first weekly decline since April on concerns that aggressive monetary tightening by major central banks could lead to a recession.
Benchmark crude futures for August delivery climbed 0.7 percent to $120.64 a barrel, while WTI crude futures for July settlement were up 0.8 percent at $118.52.
The upside was supported by supply tightness, the new U.S. sanctions on Iran and a pledge by China's cabinet that it will accelerate the implementation of a raft of pro-growth policies to stabilize the world's second-largest economy.
The Biden administration has imposed sanctions Thursday on a network of Iranian petrochemical producers and front companies in China and the United Arab Emirates on accusations they brokered international sales of Iranian petrochemicals. The move comes amid a deadlock in negotiations on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal.
In another development, China's cabinet pledged more policy steps to help the world's second-largest economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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