Investing.com - Oil prices rose on Friday following reports that missiles from Yemen had struck oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and as the dollar weakened following remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
Crude oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 50 cents, or 1.06%, to trade at $47.83 a barrel by 1113 ET.
Global benchmark Brent was up 49 cents or 0.93% to $50.16 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Oil prices jumped following media reports that Yemeni missiles hit facilities belonging to the Saudi state oil giant Aramco.
Oil prices received an additional boost as the dollar weakened against a basket of currencies after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments at Jackson Hole.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, initially hit highs of 94.98, before turning lower.
The dollar initially strengthened after Yellen said that the case for raising U.S. interest rates has strengthened in recent months, citing improvements in the labor market and hopes for modest economic growth.
But the dollar then reversed initial gains on the view that the timing of any monetary tightening is still some way off.
The U.S. central bank raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in December.
Expectations of higher interest rates typically boost the dollar by making it more attractive to yield seeking investors.
Oil prices had weakened earlier Friday after Saudi’s energy minister played down expectations that major producers might agree next month to cap output in order to support the market.