The June WTI crude oil futures contract in NYMEX ACCESS trade at 11:15 hours Tokyo time on Friday was at $48.53 per barrel (bbl), up 37cts from the closing price in New York on Thursday while the July Brent contract in ICE After Hours Trading was at $49.17/bbl, up 36cts. In response to the drop in crude oil production tied to militant attacks on oil installations in Nigeria and wild fires in Canada, "concerns of supply shutdowns are prevalent," Takayuki Nogami, a chief economist at Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) said. Despite expected declines in oil production, market sources noted that strength in the dollar could offset bullish factors tied to production declines and cap the upside of oil prices. Meanwhile, the Nikkei Stock Average gained 33.03 points in Friday morning trade rising to 16,679.69 as the dollar fell to 109.94 to the yen.

RECX-22 index for Friday was at 71.59 points, down 0.13 points from Thursday, a reflection of softer crude oil prices on Thursday.