Concerns about production because of a storm system in the Gulf of Mexico prompted West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures to rise on Friday, according to Bloomberg.
Tropical Storm Karen has been growing in strength and is migrating through the gulf and toward the U.S. coast. The system that is not forecast to become a hurricane helped drive the energy commodity toward marking its first weekly gains in four weeks.
"The market is paying respect to the storm," senior market analyst Phil Flynn with the Price Futures Group in Chicago told Bloomberg on Friday. "It's not going to be a hurricane, but you can't totally dismiss the storm. It could definitely impact production. People are still worried about the budget standoff."
At 9:40 a.m. on Friday, WTI crude oil futures increased 0.59 percent, a 61-cent lift to $103.92 per barrel. Brent crude oil futures rose 0.51 percent, a 56-cent lift to $109.56 per barrel.
Reuters reports the political impasse in Washington that is keeping the government of the biggest consumer of the energy commodity partially shutdown was curbing prices of crude oil futures on Friday.
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