WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices headed for their biggest weekly gains in over a year on Friday amid signs of an escalating conflict between Iran and Israel,
Benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1 percent to $78.40 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 1.1 percent at $74.50.
Both benchmarks were headed for weekly gains of about 9 percent as traders priced in the likelihood of supply disruptions in the Middle East, which accounts for about a third of global supply.
Israel is believed to be planning a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah, while also conducting strikes in Gaza.
The country said it bombed more than a dozen Hezbollah targets in Beirut on Thursday in retaliation to Iran's launching of approximately 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel on Tuesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. was discussing whether to support potential Israeli strikes against Iranian oil facilities.
Goldman Sachs said it expects oil prices to surge by $20 per barrel if Iran's oil supply is disrupted due to the Middle East conflict.
Meanwhile, Libya's state-run oil company has said it is restarting full oil production, almost two months after shutting down operations in two of its major fields amid a political crisis.
A dispute over leadership of the central bank has been resolved, paving the way for the OPEC producer to raise oil output significantly.
OPEC and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, is also sitting on a large amount of spare crude that could help bridge the shortfall in the event of any supply deficiency in the market, according to analysts.
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