Oil Prices Dip Following Confirmation of Normal Operations at Oman's Mina al Fahal Terminal

Oil prices edged down after Oman said operations at Mina al Fahal port were proceeding normally, following a Reuters report that oil loadings had been suspended after an explosion.

Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.25%, to $94.79 a barrel by 0704 GMT after settling down 2.84% in the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.48 a barrel, down 56 cents, or 0.6%, following a 3.1% loss on Thursday.

Both contracts are set to post their first weekly gain in three weeks, with WTI up more than 6%, after fighting flared up in the Middle East as U.S.-Iran war peace talks dragged on while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil passes, remained limited.

Petroleum Development Oman said on Friday that operations at Mina Al Fahal port are proceeding normally, after three sources told Reuters earlier that oil loading had been suspended following an explosion near its mooring berths.

Oman exports 800,000 to 900,000 barrels per day of crude from the terminal.

Analysts have also flagged concerns of falling oil inventories globally that could cause a price spike in the third quarter.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem rejected on Thursday a U.S.-brokered agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government to halt the fighting. Iran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon a condition for any peace deal with Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he believed progress was being made between Israel and Lebanon and that Lebanon deserved to have peace.

"Any optimism remains heavily clouded by a tangled web of headlines and counter-headlines," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.

"From a technical perspective, as long as (WTI) crude oil remains above trendline support in the low $80s, the risks remain skewed to the upside."

OPEC is sticking to its oil demand growth forecast of 1.2 million barrels per day for this year, Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Thursday, despite the Middle East conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian oil exports have fallen to their lowest level in six years mainly due to the U.S. naval blockade, according to shipping data, although weak demand in China has depressed prices for the oil. 

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