Oil prices rose due to political uncertainty in the United States and the Middle East, easing pressure from a stronger dollar and weak demand in China.

Brent crude futures rose 15 cents, or 0.2%, to $85.18 a barrel by 04:25 GMT, after closing down 37 cents on Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose to $82.41 a barrel, up 20 cents, or 0.2%.

Oil prices managed to recover despite the impact of a stronger dollar resulting from an assassination attempt on U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Analysts confirmed that these events could cast a shadow over markets in light of deep political divisions ahead of the elections.

With geopolitical tensions continuing in the Middle East, confidence in oil markets was bolstered amid uncertainty surrounding the situation in the region.

In a separate development, Iraq’s oil ministry expects to offset any increase in oil production since the beginning of 2024 as OPEC+ continues to cut supplies, which supports prices.

In the United States, data showed that the number of active oil rigs fell to 478 last week, indicating expectations of lower future production—the lowest level since December 2021.