Oil heads for weekly gains on Iran sanctions

Oil prices rose in early Asian trading on Friday, heading for a second consecutive week of gains, after US sanctions on Iran and a new plan by the OPEC+ alliance to cut production by seven members increased bets on tighter supplies.

Brent crude futures rose 42 cents, or 0.6%, to $72.40 a barrel by 00:26 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $68.52 a barrel.

For the week, both benchmarks are on track to post gains of about 2%, their largest weekly gain since the first week of 2025, according to Reuters.

The US Treasury Department announced new Iran-related sanctions on Thursday, targeting for the first time an independent Chinese refinery, along with several other entities and vessels involved in supplying Iranian crude oil to China.