Oil edges lower, but heads for weekly gain as Middle East supply risks persist

(Reuters) – Oil prices fell in early trading on Friday but remained on track for weekly gains as the United States and Iran continued trading ​strikes._x000D_
Concerns that accelerating inflation could soften oil demand weighed on the market ‌and pressured prices._x000D_
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Brent futures fell 6 cents, or 0.08%, to $76.24 a barrel by 0125 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude lost 4 cents, or 0.06%, to $72.04._x000D_
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For the week, Brent was set ​for a 6% gain and WTI was headed for a 5% increase._x000D_
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Iranian ​armed forces launched attacks on U.S. military infrastructure in Gulf states on ⁠Thursday following U.S. strikes on Iran’s southern coastal and eastern provinces, further straining ​a three-week-old ceasefire. Separately, Iranian media reported multiple explosions across southern Iran, including Bushehr, where ​one of the country’s nuclear plants is located._x000D_
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The renewed fighting came the day that Iran buried its slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the culmination of a week of mass funeral processions and ​rallies. Khamenei was killed on the first day of the war on February ​28._x000D_
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The conflict has delayed the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that ‌about ⁠20% of daily global oil and gas supplies passed through before the war._x000D_
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“Despite the U.S. ramping up attacks on military sites in Iran, the market drew some reassurance from the Trump administration’s decision to avoid targeting Iranian energy infrastructure,” said Daniel Hynes, ​the senior commodity strategist ​for ANZ bank._x000D_
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“This ⁠was aided by comments from President Trump, who said he doesn’t expect a return to a full-scale conflict.”_x000D_
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U.S. President Donald Trump ​had said on Wednesday he did not think the war ​would restart ⁠and that “anything that happens is going to be over very quickly.”_x000D_
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In the U.S., the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, indicating that the labor market remained ⁠in ​a “slow-hire, slow-fire” mode._x000D_
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In China, the world’s second-biggest economy, producer ​price inflation surged to a four-year high in June, piling pressure on manufacturers’ profit margins as weak domestic ​demand limited pricing power.