* U.S. gasoline futures soar after Philadelphia refinery
fire
* Trump says he aborted retaliatory strike to spare Iranian
lives
* Iran not keen on talks, warns of consequences -sources
* Trump talks to Saudi crown prince on Iran, oil
* Hedge funds boost bullish bets on U.S. crude -CFTC
* U.S. oil rig count rises by one this week -Baker Hughes
(Updates to settlement, adds CFTC data)
By Scott DiSavino and Devika Krishna Kumar
NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - Oil futures rose about 1% on
Friday, with U.S. crude up 10% and global benchmark Brent
gaining 5% in the week, on fears the United States could attack
Iran and disrupt flows from the Middle East, which provides more
than a fifth of the world's oil output.
U.S. gasoline RBc1 futures, meanwhile, jumped 4% following
a massive fire at Philadelphia Energy Solutions' refinery in
Philadelphia, the largest on the U.S. East Coast. "The heightening of tensions between the United States and
Iran has evolved as primary price motivator in spiking oil
values," Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates said in a
note.
While the rise in U.S.-Iranian tensions has largely driven
the crude price gains, analysts said an early July meeting of
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and
its allies to reassess production targets, a potential softening
of trade tensions between the United States and China and the
refinery fire were also supporting prices.
Brent futures LCOc1 rose 75 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at
$65.20 a barrel, while the most active U.S. West Texas
Intermediate (WTI) crude contract CLc1 ended the session up 36
cents, or 0.6%, at $57.43.
Brent notched a gain of about 5% for the week, its first
weekly gain in five weeks, and WTI jumped about 10%, its biggest
weekly percentage gain since December 2016.
The U.S. benchmark surged 5.4% and Brent jumped 4.3% on
Thursday after Iran shot down a drone that the United States
claimed was in international airspace and Iran said was over its
territory. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had aborted a military
strike on Iran because such a response to Tehran's downing of
the unmanned U.S. surveillance drone would have caused a
disproportionate loss of life. Iranian officials told Reuters that Tehran had received a
message from Trump through Oman overnight warning that a U.S.
attack on Iran was imminent.
The officials said they had responded by saying that any
attack would have regional and international consequences. They
also said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was against
talks but that they would convey the U.S. message to him.
Trump spoke on Friday to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman about Middle East stability and the oil market, the White
House said, after tensions with Iran prompted a rise in oil
prices. Tensions have been on the rise since U.S. sanctions on Iran
severely reduced oil exports from OPEC's third largest producer
and as Washington blamed Tehran, which denies any role, for a
series of attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.
"There is no doubt that a severe disruption to the transit
of oil through this vulnerable route would be extremely
serious," said consultancy FGE Energy in a note.
The demand outlook has also improved, with appetite for risk
assets rising after the European and the U.S. central banks
signaled possible rate cuts this week.
A weaker dollar .DXY also supported oil prices, making
crude, usually priced in dollars, cheaper for buyers with other
currencies. /USD
Another macroeconomic factor supporting prices is the plan
by Beijing and Washington to resume talks to resolve a trade war
that has hit economic growth prospects.
"Trade anxiety has died down, pushing energy prices higher
as global growth will not be pressured by a prolonged tariff
war," said Alfonso Esparza, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Concern about slowing economic growth and a U.S.-China trade
dispute had pulled oil lower in recent weeks. That came after
Brent reached a 2019-high above $75 in April.
Hedge funds and money managers raised bullish wagers on U.S.
crude in the week to June 18, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC) said on Friday, as the tensions in the Middle
East flared. U.S. energy firms added one rig this week, increasing the
number of oil rigs operating for the first time in the past
three weeks. The rig count, however, is on track to decline for
a seventh month in a row in June as drillers cut spending to
focus more on earnings growth instead of increased output.
RIG/U
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