Oil prices inched up in early Asian trading hours on Friday, holding on to their strong weekly gains, as investors weighed the Middle East conflict and the potential disruption in crude flows against an amply-supplied global market.
The dollar hovered near a six-week high on Friday ahead of a payrolls report that could decide the path of U.S. interest rates, while the yen headed for its weakest weekly performance since 2016, hit by uncertainty over Japan's monetary policy.
Asian shares retreated from a 32-month peak on Thursday as the sizzling rally in Hong Kong took a breather, while Japan's Nikkei jumped as the risk of further tightening in monetary policy this year faded.
Oil prices rose on Thursday as the prospect of a widening Middle East conflict that could disrupt crude oil flows from the key exporting region overshadowed a stronger global supply outlook.
The dollar scaled a more than six-week high versus the yen on Thursday as robustness in the U.S. jobs market reinforced bets the Federal Reserve will not rush to cut interest rates.
Asia stocks sank on Wednesday, catching up with the sell-off on Wall Street after Iran's ballistic missile strike on Israel provoked fears of a wider regional conflict, while crude oil pushed higher on the risk of supply disruptions.