Oil heads for weekly gain

Oil rose after services were briefly suspended on the Keystone pipeline, a key conduit that carries Canadian crude to the U.S. Brent crude futures rose above $83 a barrel after settling unchanged on Thursday. U.S. crude gained as much as 0.8% to above $79. Operator TC Energy Corp. confirmed Keystone’s integrity in a statement, adding that service was temporarily suspended “as a precautionary measure” and that no crude was being released. Oil has traded in a narrow range this year and trading even less volatile this week has kept prices in their narrowest range since September 2021. OPEC+ cuts and rising tensions in the Middle East and the Red Sea have been offset by increased supply from producers outside the cartel, including the U.S. Persistent concerns about China’s growth have added to the negativity. Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that the central bank is nearing the confidence it needs to start cutting interest rates helped push the dollar into a sixth day of decline and also supported commodities including crude. “We expect oil markets to remain tight in the near term,” helped by OPEC+ supply cuts and better-than-expected consumption data from the U.S. and China this week, said Han Zhong Liang, investment strategist at Standard Chartered Plc.