Oil falls, records third-weekly loss

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices settled lower on Friday, recording a weekly loss for the third straight week, pressured by demand slowdown worries and the continued US monetary tightening that pushes the dollar higher.

Brent crude futures for August delivery fell 0.3%, or 25 cents, at $79.62 per barrel, with a weekly loss of 1.8%.

WTI crude for June delivery stabilized at $75.53 per barrel, with a loss of 1.9% this week.

The dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.80% to 104.91 points, at 10:22 pm Makkah time, which pressures the prices of goods denominated in the US currency.

US oil rig count declined four units to 492 in the week ended May 27, Baker Hughes said in its weekly report.

On the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said global oil demand will likely rise by one million barrels per day on average every year of the next 10 years.

The US government announced today its plan to purchase six million barrels of crude oil to support its strategic stocks, which declined after historic withdrawals two years ago.