Brent crude oil futures for May rose by 1.18% to $85.75 per barrel, and WTI April futures increased by 1.68% to $79.46.

At the end of the week the price of Brent may show a 3.52% increase while WTI may rise 3.68%. The price of oil has been growing for the fourth day in a row.

Oil prices are rising – what’s going on?

Earlier on Friday, The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed Emirati officials, reported that the UAE is having internal discussions about the possibility of withdrawing from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). After the news of the possible withdrawal of the country from the organization, oil prices began to show a drop of more than 2%. Later, also citing an unnamed official, Bloomberg stated that the UAE had no plans to leave OPEC. After the rebuttal, oil prices returned to rise.

“The UAE’s reaction to the news shows its belief in the need to prevent oil prices from falling,” Bloomberg quoted Christyan Malek, head of global energy strategy at JP Morgan, as saying.

On Friday, U.S. oilfield services company Baker Hughes published data on the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. During the week to March 3, that number fell by eight to 592 rigs.

Earlier we reported that Germany has prepared a bill to ban oil and gas heating by 2045.