Investing.com - Crude oil futures rose on Friday, to trade near two-week highs amid growing concerns over fresh tensions in Ukraine and as U.S. manufacturing data released on Thursday continued to support.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in August traded at $103.52 a barrel during European afternoon trade, up 0.31%.
Prices rallied 1.97% on Thursday to settle at $103.19.
Futures were likely to find support at $101.27 a barrel, Thursday's low and resistance at $105.53, the high from July 2.
Oil prices strengthened after a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet crashed in eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board were killed, sharply raising the stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back opposing sides.
The crash came a day after the U.S. and the European Union announced a fresh round of sanctions against Russia, following the annexation of Crimea in April and ongoing tensions in the rest of Ukraine. The U.S. package was the largest round of penalties so far.
Markets also continued to monitor developments in the Middle East as Israel announced late Thursday the start of a ground campaign in Gaza after 10 days of aerial and naval bombardments failed to stop Palestinian rocket attacks.
Oil also remained supported a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday saying that its manufacturing index improved to a reading of 23.9 this month from June’s reading of 17.8. Analysts had expected the index to dip to 16.0 in July.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil for August gained 0.32% to trade at $108.24 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at $4.72 a barrel.