Oil prices settled lower on Friday but recorded a second straight week of gains, garnering support from a U.S. interest rate cut and a dip in U.S. supply.
Brent futures settled down 39 cents, or 0.52%, at $74.49 a barrel. U.S. WTI crude futures settled down 3 cents, or 0.4%, to $71.92. Signs of a slowing economy in major commodity consumer China gave prices a ceiling. But for the week, both benchmarks settled up more than 4%.
Prices have recovered after Brent fell below $69 for the first time in nearly three years on Sept. 10. Prices rose more than 1% on Thursday, a day after the U.S. central bank’s decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point.
