Oil Grows 2.5% as Saudi Production Not Expected to Increase

Oil prices rose 2.5% on Friday after a US said that an immediate increase in Saudi oil production was not expected, and as investors questioned whether OPEC had room to increase crude production or not.

Brent crude futures rose $2.50, or 2.5%, to $101.60 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 2.5% to $98.16.

US President Joe Biden arrived in Jeddah later on Friday and was expected to invite Saudi Arabia to pump more oil.

More hawkish US Federal Reserve policymakers said Thursday they favor a 75 basis point rate hike at this month's policy meeting. Fears that the Federal Reserve may choose to raise interest rates by 100 basis points this month, weak economic data has caused Brent and West Texas Intermediate to dump more than $5 on Thursday.