Oil ticks lower, records 4% weekly gain

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices declined on Friday amid concerns about weak demand and slowing economic growth.

Brent crude futures for November delivery dropped 0.5%, or $0.39, to $74.49 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for October delivery stabilized at $71.92 per barrel.

Both contracts recorded weekly gains of 4% and 4.75%, respectively.

The US drilling rig count kept flat at 488 in the week ended Sept. 20, Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.

China issued the third and what’s likely to be the final batch of fuel export quota for this year, keeping the level very similar to 2023 in a sign it doesn’t want to encourage refiners to boost activity. 

The total issuance for the year is 41 million tons, compared with 40 million tons in 2023. The batch will likely be the last for the year, according to JLC.