2023.07.1409:54:00UTC+00Oil On Track For Third Weekly Gain Amid Supply Concerns

Oil prices were little changed on Friday, but were on track for a third weekly gain, drawing support from tighter supply amid issues in Libya and Nigeria and signs of easing U.S. inflation.

Benchmark Brent crude futures were virtually unchanged at $81.36 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were down marginally at $76.86.

The oil market is expected to be very tight due to declining Russian crude exports and supply disruptions in Libya and Nigeria.

Production at Libya's El Feel, Sharara and 108 oilfields was shut on Thursday in a protest by a local tribe against a kidnapping of a former minister.

Separately, Shell has suspended loadings of Nigeria's Forcados crude oil due to a potential leak at a terminal, Reuters said citing a spokesperson for its local subsidiary, SPDC.

Protests in Libya alone could take away more than 250,000 barrels of oil per day from the market, according to ANZ Research.

Meanwhile, traders remain hopeful of higher demand for crude due to easing worries about inflation and interest-rate hikes in the U.S.

Weaker-than-expected U.S. consumer price inflation and producer price inflation data released earlier this week spurred hopes that interest rates in the U.S. are very near their peak.