Oil prices rose in today’s final Asian trade of the week, heading for a weekly gain after two straight weeks of declines. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said last night that the country’s economic growth for the first quarter could be revised upwards and that inflation would ease, raising hopes among investors for stronger demand for the black gold, reports Reuters.
European North Sea Brent futures for June delivery added 31 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $89.32 a barrel.
U.S. light crude futures were up 23 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $83.80 a barrel.
Since the beginning of the week, Brent has increased in price by 2.3 percent, and American light crude oil – by 0.8 percent.
Yellen said U.S. gross domestic product growth was likely to be stronger than suggested by weaker-than-expected quarterly data released yesterday, which showed the U.S. economy grew 1.6 percent on an annual basis in the January- March.
