Brent crude ended the session up 31 cents, or 0.4%, at US$74.10 a barrel after jumping 2.2% on Thursday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 16 cents, or 0.2%, at $72.07, after gaining 2.3% on Thursday. For the week, Brent gained 0.7% after declining for three consecutive weeks, while WTI rose 0.4% after falling for two weeks.
NEW YORK: Oil prices edged higher on Friday and for the week after a strong recovery from Monday's steep slide, underpinned by expectations that supply will remain tight through the year.
The price of oil and other riskier assets tumbled at the start of the week on concern over the impact on the economy and crude demand from surging cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant in the United States, Britain, Japan and elsewhere.
