Brent drops on Friday but heads for weekly gains

Oil prices fell on Friday as more supply came back online in the US Gulf of Mexico following two hurricanes, but both benchmark contracts are on track to post weekly gains.

Almost 28% of US Gulf of Mexico’s crude production is still offline two and a half weeks after Hurricane Ida.

“It's taking longer than people thought if they really took the time to step back. That was a supportive factor in the market”, Reuters reported, citing Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar.

Brent crude futures shed 0.3%, to $75.46 per barrel at 9:00 am Makkah time.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded 0.3%, lower at $72.38 per barrel.