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Brent crude futures settled up $2.32 at $95.99 a barrel,
extending a 1.1% rise from the previous session but falling 2.6%
on the week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled up
$2.49, or 2.9%, at $88.96 a barrel, after climbing 0.8% in the
previous session but down nearly 4% on the week.
The easing curbs include shortening quarantine times for close
contacts of cases and inbound travelers by two days, as well as
eliminating a penalty on airlines for bringing in infected
passengers.
The benchmark oil contracts fell during the week due to rising
U.S. oil inventories, and lingering fears over capped fuel
demand in China, but late-week gains limited the losses.
"China’s changing response to stubbornly high COVID-19 cases has
added to the oil market’s price volatility and, should this new
Chinese policy continue, the energy complex could be poised to
erase most of this week’s decline," said Jim Ritterbusch,
president of Ritterbusch and Associates LLC in Galena, Illinois.
A weaker U.S. dollar also supported oil prices as it makes the
commodity cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
Prices also picked up on Friday after milder-than-expected U.S.
inflation reinforced hopes that the Federal Reserve would slow
down rate increases, boosting chances of a soft landing for the
world's biggest economy. [MKTS/GLOB]
Saudi Arabia's energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said
OPEC+ will remain cautious on oil production, noting that
members saw "uncertainties" in the global economy ahead of the
bloc's next meeting in December, Bloomberg News reported on
Friday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies
led by Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, last month agreed to
steep production cuts, and will meet again on Dec. 4 to set its
policy.
China's COVID-19 caseload soared to its highest since the
lockdown in Shanghai earlier this year. Both Beijing and
Zhengzhou reported record daily cases.
Besides work-from-home orders reducing mobility and fuel demand,
travel across China remained subdued as people wanted to avoid
the risk of being caught up in quarantine, ANZ Research analysts
said in a note.
(Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar in London Sonali Paul in
Melbourne and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; editing by David
Evans,Tomasz Janowski and Jonathan Oatis)
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