Oil prices settled higher on Friday but posted their fourth straight quarterly loss as investors worried that sluggish global economic activity could crimp fuel demand.
Benchmark Brent crude futures for August delivery which expires on Friday, settled up 56 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $74.90. In the three months to the end of June, the contract finished down 6 percent.
US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled up 78 cents, or 1.1 percent at $70.64 a barrel. It posted its second straight quarterly drop, down about 6.5 percent in the latest three months.
Prices have been under pressure from rising interest rates in key economies and a slower than expected recovery in Chinese manufacturing and consumption.
Signs of strengthening US economic activity and sharp declines in US oil inventories last week offered some support.
For the day, crude was bolstered by a US Commerce Department report showing annual inflation rising last month at its slowest pace in two years.
Signs of moderating inflation “could hold the Federal Reserve off rising interest rates again,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.
The market was also supported by upward revisions in demand for crude oil and refined products in the United States.
Demand for crude and petroleum products fell slightly to 20.446 million bpd in April but remained seasonally strong, EIA data showed.
Prices also drew support from Saudi Arabia’s plans to cut output by a further 1 million barrels per day in July in addition to a broader OPEC+ deal to limit supply into 2024. – Reuters
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