Investing.com - U.S. oil jumped to one-month highs on Friday, after the U.S. launched cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria.
U.S. crude futures for May delivery were up 0.85% at $52.14 a barrel, the highest since March 7.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the June Brent contract gained 0.64% to trade at $55.24 a barrel, also the highest level since March 7.
Oil prices climbed after the U.S. launched cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria, sparking concerns of an escalation in the Syrian civil war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he ordered missile strikes against a Syrian airfield from which a deadly chemical weapons attack was launched.
The air strike came during a two-day summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping which, on Thursday, had a strong focus on trade and North Korea's military program.
Trump had warned that he would be ready to act unilaterally to address North Korea's nuclear program if China does not step up to help in the matter.
Market participants were also looking ahead to the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, due later Friday, a day after the release of upbeat jobless claims data.
Crude prices had also strengthened this week amid increasing optimism that OPEC’s supply curbs are beginning to rebalance the market.
OPEC agreed in November last year to curb its output by about 1.2 million barrels per day between January and June. Russia and 10 other non-OPEC producers have agreed to jointly cut by an additional 600,000 barrels per day.
In total, they agreed to reduce output by 1.8 million barrels per day to 32.5 million for the first six months of the year.
A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers will meet in late April to present its recommendation on the fate of the pact. A final decision on whether or not to extend the deal beyond June will be taken by the oil cartel on May 25.