LONDON :Oil prices held steady on Friday, heading for their biggest weekly gains since mid-December as unrest in Kazakhstan and outages in Libya spurred concerns over supply. "The upward jump in oil prices mostly reflects the market jitters as unrest escalates in Kazakhstan and the political situation in Libya continues to deteriorate and sideline oil output," Rystad Energy analyst Louise Dickson said. The protests began in Kazakhstan's oil-rich western regions after state price caps on butane and propane were removed on New Year's Day. Both contracts were up US$1 earlier in the session, but prices came under pressure after U.S. employment figures missed expectations. While the Omicron coronavirus variant is rapidly taking hold, demand-side concerns are easing amid rising evidence that it is less severe than previous variants.

Source: Libya Today January 07, 2022 04:02 UTC