Oil Prices Poised for Weekly Gain

Crude oil prices extended their gains from Thursday earlier today and looked set to interrupt a three-week losing streak, if the gains hold. They might well reverse, however, as Gulf of Mexico oil producers begin to restart operations following Hurricane Francine. The hurricane had prompted the shut-in of as much as 42% of Gulf production, equal to about 730,000 barrels daily, supporting prices. However, more than this was affected in terms of total production, according to UBS analysts, who put the total amount affected at 1.5 million barrels…