Fears of prolonged Suez Canal blockage drive oil prices higher

Salvage firm says giant ship blocking Suez Canal, among busiest channels for oil and fuels, could take weeks to free.

Oil prices rose sharply on Friday on mounting concerns that it could take weeks to dislodge a giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal, possibly squeezing supplies of crude and refined products. Prices, however, were still headed for a third consecutive weekly loss, with the outlook for demand dented by fresh coronavirus lockdowns in Europe. Brent crude was higher by 54 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $62.49 a barrel by 04:32 GMT, after dropping 3.8 percent on Thursday.