Baku-APA. Oil prices gained Friday, supported partly by the geopolitical tension in Syria, and positive U.S. economic data, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
U.S. planned to boost arms supply to the opposition in Syria as a response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian government forces. U.S. official said that Syrian government troops used sarin against the rebels on insignificant scale.
Traders worried this decisions about sending more weapons and military equipment into Syria will raise the level of confrontation and violence in the Middle East country.
Middle East is a critical source of crude oil, therefore conflicts which threaten disruptions in crude production of supply in this region always drive oil price higher.
On the economic front, seasonally adjusted Producer Price Index (PPI) for finished goods rose 0.5 percent in May, after falling in the previous two months, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday. The latest PPI figure came in higher than analysts' estimates.
Meanwhile, the initial reading of the U.S. current-account deficit increased to 106.1 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter of the year from the sharply revised-down figure of 102.3 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of last year, the Commerce Department said.
The most important thing is that U.S. retail sales rose in May, led by strong auto sales, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. U.S. retail and food services sales for May rose 0.6 percent to 421.1 billion U.S. dollars from the previous month, beating economists' forecast of increasing 0.5 percent.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery gained 1.16 dollars, or 1. 2 percent, to settle at 97.85 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent for July delivery increased 1.68 dollars, or 1.61 percent, to close at 105.93 dollars a barrel.
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