By Basak Erkalan
Oil prices rose on Friday due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine remaining high and concerns over oil demand from the US and China.
The international oil benchmark of Brent crude rose 0.38% to $74.28 per barrel at 9.18 a.m. local time (0618 GMT), up from the previous session's close of $74.23.
The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also increased by 0.11% to $70.18 per barrel, compared to $70.1 at the prior session's close.
On Wednesday, Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russian forces conducted an airstrike on the city of Dnipro, deploying various weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to a statement shared on Telegram.
“One of the largest and well-known industrial complexes from the Soviet Union, which today produces missile technology and other weapons, was hit in the city of Dnipro in Ukraine,” Putin said in a live video address.
The attack comes a day after Ukraine’s first use of US long-range ATACMS missiles on Russian soil, following authorization from US President Joe Biden.
The Guardian reported earlier this week that the UK would soon approve the use of Storm Shadow missiles to target Russian territory.
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, cautioned that such actions would significantly escalate the West's confrontation with Russia and promised a response.
Meanwhile, concerns over oil demand from the US and China, the world’s largest crude consumers, continue to temper price increases despite geopolitical uncertainties.