LONDON, Nov 15: The price of oil made modest gains on Friday as traders squared positions ahead of the weekend for fear of being caught out by developments over Iraq, traders said.

Benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for January delivery rose to $23.19 from $23 at the close of trading on Thursday.

Reference light sweet crude December-dated futures slipped one cent a barrel to $22.58.

“I don’t think many people are going to want to be too exposed to the downside over the weekend,” said ABN Amro trader Mark Keenan.

“The market is cautious and I wouldn’t be surprised if we do get something out of the Middle East in one form or another and people are not happy with having any short positions into the weekend.”

A short position is when traders sell oil they do not own in the hope of buying it later at a lower price. Oil prices have fallen to eight-month lows here in recent days following Iraq’s decision to readmit UN weapons inspectors.—AFP