AFP, Singapore :
Oil prices were mixed in Asia Friday as dealers focused on conflict-wracked Ukraine and US-led airstrikes against jihadists in the Middle East, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for November delivery rose two cents to $92.55 while Brent crude for November eased three cents to $96.97 in afternoon trade.
Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told AFP: “Developments in Ukraine and the situation with the US bombings in Syria and Iraq are on investors’ minds.”
The European Union (EU) will hold fresh talks with Russia and Ukraine later Friday in Berlin to settle their ongoing dispute over gas deliveries. Europe gets more than 30 percent of its gas from Russia, with half of that transiting through Ukraine.
In June, Moscow cut off supplies for Kiev owing to a bitter price dispute that took place against the backdrop of an armed insurgency by pro-Kremlin rebels in east Ukraine.
