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Brent crude futures dropped 50 cents, or 0.5%, to $96.46 a
barrel by 1047 GMT, having climbed by 1.3% in the previous
session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were
down 78 cents, or 0.9%, at $88.30.
Both benchmarks, however, were on course for a weekly rise, with
Brent heading for a gain of about 3% and WTI about 4%.
Friday's declines came after Chinese cities ramped up COVID-19
curbs on Thursday, sealing up buildings and locking down
districts in a scramble to halt widening outbreaks.
China registered 1,506 new COVID-19 infections on Oct. 27, the
National Health Commission said on Friday, up from 1,264 new
cases a day earlier.
The International Monetary Fund expects China's growth to slow
to 3.2% this year, a downgrade of 1.2 points from its April
projection, after an 8.1% rise in 2021.
"It's hard to make a case for a rebound in China’s crude
purchases given the backdrop of uncertainty over its zero-COVID
policy," said PVM Oil analyst Stephen Brennock.
Limiting losses, however, was a strong rebound in U.S. gross
domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, highlighting the
resilience of the world's largest economy and oil consumer.
U.S. GDP increased at a higher than expected 2.6% annualised
rate, Thursday's data showed, after a 0.6% contraction in the
previous quarter.
The German economy also grew unexpectedly in the third quarter,
data showed on Friday, as Europe's largest economy kept
recession at bay for now despite high inflation and concerns
over energy supply.
Supply concerns ahead of a looming European ban on Russian crude
imports also supported prices.
"The market remains wary of the impending deadlines for European
purchases of Russian crude before the sanctions kick in on 5
December," ANZ Research analysts said in a note.
(Reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar; Additional reporting by Jeslyn Lerh
in Singapore and Sonali Paul in Melbourne; Editing by David
Goodman)
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