2020.01.1009:09:00UTC+00Oil Extends Losses As Mideast Tensions Ease

Oil prices slid on Friday as the threat of an all-out war in the Middle East dissipated and investors shifted their focus to rising global oil inventories.

Benchmark Brent crude edged down 0.2 percent to $65.25 a barrel and was down nearly 5 percent for the week. WTI crude futures were down 0.35 percent at $59.36, falling almost 6 percent for the week.

Markets are pricing in a lower risk of supply-side disruptions in the Middle East after both the United States and Iran stepped back from the brink of a war.

After Britain and Canada pointed to what they said were signs of an accidental missile strike, Iran denied it was hit by a missile.

The Boeing 737 crashed in the early hours on Wednesday shortly after Tehran launched missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq in response to the killing of a top Iranian general in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.

Meanwhile, in another significant development, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a resolution that would force President Trump to seek consent from Congress before taking new military action against Iran.