Brent oil prices firmed on Thursday, hovering near 3-1/2-month highs as U.S. refiners restarting after Tropical Storm Harvey increased their crude processing and the U.S. dollar declined. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 28 cents at $54.48 a barrel by 1143 GMT, close to their highest since May 25. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 eased by 11 cents to $49.05 a barrel, near a four-week high.

Oil is heading for the longest run of weekly gains since October 2016 as global supplies tighten and on signs the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will extend output curbs past the end of March. Saudi Arabia on Thursday advised its nationals to leave Lebanon, fueling fears of a confrontation with Iran in a country long known for being a battleground for proxy wars in the Middle East. “Geopolitical risks have taken center stage in the oil market again,” said Jens Naervig Pedersen, senior analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “The rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have raised concerns in the oil market of an imminent supply disruption.” Saudi Arabia said it plans to cut crude exports to all the regions it ships to next month. Shipments will fall by 120,000 barrels a day in December from November, a spokesman for the Energy Ministry said, without specifying what those levels would be. Bloomberg calculations from vessel-tracking data estimated flows in October at 6.989 million a day. Click Read More below for additional information.

UPS has begun sending letters to about 105,000 package van drivers offering them voluntary severance packages worth $150,000, to resign, the company confirmed on Wednesday. A federal judge last week cleared the freight transportation giant to move ahead with buyout offers over objections from the Teamsters union. UPS (NYSE: UPS) has decided to reduce headcount by 30,000 this year as part of a network consolidation plan aimed at reducing costs and improving efficiency amid declining parcel volumes. During court arguments, Teamsters lawyers said the union expects up to 10,000 drivers to accept the company’s offer.