Oil price news: Oil set for third weekly drop as demand fears outweigh war risk

​Oil headed for a third straight weekly drop on growing concerns over global demand and the unwinding of the war-risk premium, while Saudi Arabia blamed speculators for the decline.

Global benchmark Brent crude was back above US$80 a barrel on Friday, but fell to a three-month low earlier this week. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister blamed speculators for the drop, but others see higher supply as the driver. In a potential further drag on prices, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that interest rates may have to climb further.

Brent has plunged around 13 per cent over the past three weeks on bearish demand signals from China, the US and Europe. Meanwhile, flows from the Middle East remained unaffected by the Israel-Hamas war.