Oil prices are heading towards strong weekly gains, driven by escalating fears of disruption to global energy supplies, after attacks targeted two oil tankers in the Red Sea, coinciding with Kazakhstan temporarily reducing its production following a halt in the country's main export route.

By 01:26 GMT today (Friday), Brent crude futures fell 72 cents, or 0.72%, to $99.97 per barrel, but are heading for weekly gains of about 13.5%.

Brent crude futures fell 0.72% to $99.97 per barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 70 cents, or 0.76%, to $91.49 per barrel, and are heading for weekly gains of about 10.9%.

Brent crude had risen 7% at settlement yesterday (Thursday), while U.S. crude gained 6.2%, and Brent surpassed the $100 per barrel mark for the first time since May, following the targeting of two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.

The attacks raised fears in the markets of potential disruption to navigation through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is a key passage for oil shipments between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, increasing pressure on global energy markets.

In another development, Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry said oil companies temporarily reduced production after the country's main export terminal on the Black Sea suffered damage, leading to a halt in operations.

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium handles about 2% of global daily crude oil supplies, while industry sources indicated that Kazakhstan's largest oil field cut production by more than half, without official confirmation of the reduction's scale.

Gold spot price fell 0.4% to $4,030.09 per ounce.

In contrast, gold continued its decline today (Friday), after falling about 2% in the previous session, amid rising fears over the impact of higher oil prices on inflation, which reinforced expectations that U.S. interest rates would remain elevated for longer.

Gold spot price fell 0.4% to $4,030.09 per ounce, retreating more than $130 from the highest level in two weeks recorded on Wednesday, and U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell 0.4% to $4,033.20.

Despite the decline, gold is still heading for slight weekly gains of about 0.4%.

Brian Lan, managing director at GoldSilver Central, said gold market may see more volatility in the short term, noting that the yellow metal has been moving for weeks within a range roughly between $3,980 and $4,170 per ounce, with strong buying emerging whenever the price approaches or falls below the $4,000 level.

Markets are awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting next week, with expectations of keeping interest rates unchanged, while trader forecasts point to possibilities of a rate hike in September.

Higher oil prices are fueling inflation concerns, which may push central banks to keep interest rates high for longer, pressuring gold, which yields no return.

Among other precious metals, silver spot price fell 0.7% to $29.57 per ounce, but it is still heading for weekly gains of about 2.5%.