Oil prices hover around $71 a barrel on global demand.

U.S. oil futures were steady on Friday with little fresh news to drive trading following gains in the two prior sessions. Prices remained above $70 a barrel, buoyed by strong global demand, a Gulf Coast shipping snag and jitters about the unresolved tension between the West and Iran.

Light sweet crude for August delivery rose 3 cents to settle at $70.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where gasoline futures were up by less than a penny to close at $2.1276 per gallon.

Brent crude for August fell $1.87 to $68.08 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.

Oil prices rose Thursday _ and again on Friday _ as refineries along the Gulf Coast encountered some minor obstacles in the aftermath of an oil spill that disrupted ship traffic in a Louisiana waterway. Oil prices had climbed Wednesday after government data showed a smaller-than-expected build in domestic gasoline inventories.

AP