HOUSTON- Oil prices settled lower on Friday but notched their fourth straight weekly gain, as the latest US sanctions on Russian energy trade added to worries about oil supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures dipped 50 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $80.79 per barrel, but gained 1.3 percent this week. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 80 cents, or 1 percent, at $77.88 a barrel, having climbed 1.7 percent for the week.
“Sanctions on Russia are causing tightness of supply in Europe, India and China,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group.
The Biden administration unveiled broader sanctions last week targeting Russian oil producers and tankers.
Investors are also assessing the potential implications of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House on Monday. Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary said he was ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russian oil.
Money managers raised their net long US crude futures and options positions in the week up to Jan. 14, data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday. Speculators raised combined futures and options positions in New York and London by 8,038 contracts to 215,193 over that period.