Oil prices dropped on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump tempered remarks that warn of an imminent missile attack on Syria. However, Oil prices were still set for their biggest weekly gains in more than eight months.
NYMEX crude for May delivery shed about 16 cents, which is 0.2 percent, trading at $66.91 a barrel at 0632 GMT. The contract is set to post a gain of nearly 8 percent for the week, following two weeks of declines.
London Brent crude was down 18 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $71.84, and is up about 7 percent for the week.
Both benchmarks, which have risen about $5 this week, are set for their biggest weekly gains since last July. They surged to their highest since late 2014 on Wednesday after Trump warned that missiles “will be coming” in response to the attack in Syria and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles over Riyadh.
Trump tweeted on Thursday an attack on Syria “could be very soon or not so soon at all”, raising the prospect that an attack might not be as imminent as he seemed to suggest the day before.
“This last jump of $5 or so is because of the geopolitical situation caused by the situation in Syria,” said Tony Nunan, senior oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.