FX.co ★ Oil Edges Higher After New Iran Sanctions

Oil prices rose on Friday, but were on track to post their first weekly decline since April on concerns that aggressive monetary tightening by major central banks could lead to a recession.

Benchmark crude futures for August delivery climbed 0.7 percent to $120.64 a barrel, while WTI crude futures for July settlement were up 0.8 percent at $118.52.

The upside was supported by supply tightness, the new U.S. sanctions on Iran and a pledge by China's cabinet that it will accelerate the implementation of a raft of pro-growth policies to stabilize the world's second-largest economy.

The Biden administration has imposed sanctions Thursday on a network of Iranian petrochemical producers and front companies in China and the United Arab Emirates on accusations they brokered international sales of Iranian petrochemicals. The move comes amid a deadlock in negotiations on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal.

In another development, China's cabinet pledged more policy steps to help the world's second-largest economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.