Crude oil soared on Friday after media reports of a possible attack by the US on Venezuela, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Brent crude futures settled at $65.07 a barrel after it gained 7 cents or 0.11 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $60.98 a barrel after it grew by 41 cents or 0.68 per cent.
It was reported that the US air strikes on Venezuela could begin within hours, but prices retreated after US President Donald Trump issued a denial on social media.
Mr Trump’s administration has carried out a series of strikes on boats in the Pacific Ocean that it contends were carrying drugs. The strikes have killed 61 people and the US has also built up an unusually large force of warships initially against drug trafficking in the waters off South America.
Earlier this year, the American leader denied reports of a planned attack on Iran before carrying out airstrikes against the Islamic Republic.
Pressure came as the US Dollar neared three-month highs against major currencies, making purchases of commodities such as oil more expensive.
In the world’s biggest importer, China, official survey showed that factory activity shrank for a seventh month in October.
Oversupply worries also breathe down the market as OPEC and major non-OPEC producers continue to ramp up output.
Eight OPEC+ nations are leaning towards making another modest increase in oil output for December when they meet on Sunday as Saudi Arabia pushes to reclaim market share.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, may reduce its December crude price for Asian buyers, indicating a bearish note
The eight producers are likely to agree on Sunday to increase December output targets by another 137,000 barrels per day.
In a series of monthly increases, the sub-group has boosted output targets by a total of over 2.7 million barrels per day equivalent to 2.5 per cent of global supply. That is just under half the 5.85 million barrels per day cumulative cuts in supply the group had agreed in preceding years.
More supply will also cushion the impact of Western sanctions disrupting Russian oil exports to its top buyers China and India.