By Jenny W. Hsu 
 

Crude oil prices advanced in early Asian trade Friday, driven by a weakening dollar and risks that Russia's escalating involvement in Syria could hurt oil supply from the region.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at $49.90 a barrel at 0358 GMT, up $0.47 in the Globex electronic session. November Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.43 to $53.48 a barrel.

The dollar was down 0.05% at $87.46, according to the Wall Street Journal Dollar index. As global oil prices are pegged to the dollar, a weaker greenback means lower costs for foreign buyers.

Asian shares rallied Friday on prospect that the U.S. Federal Reserve might extend the easy money policy beyond the year-end, following a disappointing labor market data earlier this month. The Shanghai Composite Index opened up 0.2%, Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.6% while the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.9%, marking its fifth straight session of gains.

Oil prices also found support from Russia's burgeoning role in the Syrian civil unrest as rising geopolitical tension heightens the risk of a supply disruption over the long run, said analysts. On Wednesday, Russia intensified its assaults on the insurgents by launching missiles from four warships in the Caspian Sea.

"The impact won't be immediate because global supply is ample and Syria has not been producing crude oil. The concern is the implications on the broader oil-producing region," said Virendra Chauhan, an oil analyst at Energy Aspect.

Oil prices have almost halved since last summer, thanks to overproduction as the cash-rich oil producers opted to maintain market shares instead of scaling back output despite crumbling revenues.

Recent reports of possible collaboration among the major oil producers, including those outside of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries bloc, such as Russia, have helped sentiment. At an conference in London last week, OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri urged both nonmembers and members of OPEC to make a concerted effort to tackle the global overhang.

"If Russia can agree to cut back production quota, then there is a greater likelihood OPEC members will also do the same," said Stuart Ive, a client manager at OM Financial.

"The markets will be looking for any sign that the possible talks scheduled for the end of the month between Russia and Saudi Arabia may begin a move to remove some of the excess supply that has been weighing on the physical market," he added.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for November--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 109 points to $1.4187 a gallon, while November diesel traded at $1.6121, 103 points higher.

ICE gasoil for October changed hands at $480.75 a metric ton, down $3.50 from Thursday's settlement.

Write to Jenny W. Hsu at jenny.hsu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 09, 2015 00:29 ET (04:29 GMT)