WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices were up nearly 1 percent on Friday following three days of declines on worries about a global supply glut and weakening demand in the United States.
Benchmark Brent crude futures climbed 1.1 percent to $64.06 a barrel as sanctions by U.S. and Europe continue to tighten supply. WTI crude futures were up 1.3 percent at $60.17.
Both contracts were down about 2 percent for the week, heading for a second weekly drop on oversupply fears after OPEC= agreed a modest December output rise and the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) reported an unexpected increase in crude inventories.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 5.202 million barrels in the week ending October 31, much more than market expectations of a 0.6-million increase.
Oil prices were also pressured by concerns about the effects of the longest government shutdown in the history of the U.S. on the broader economy.
The government shutdown means the Federal Reserve is reliant on unofficial figures heading into its December rate decision.
A survey from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed on Thursday that last month was the worst October for U.S. layoffs since 2003 as companies cut jobs and imposed hiring freezes.
It was said that employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, up 183 percent from the 54,064 job cuts announced in September and up 175 percent from the 55,597 cuts announced in the same month a year ago.
U.S. firms terminated 1.09m roles during the first 10 months of this year, up 44 percent from the 761,358 cuts in 2024 and marking the highest level of year-to-date job cuts since 2020.
Separate data from Revelio Labs indicated that U.S. nonfarm payrolls decreased by 9,100 in October, compared to an increase of 33,000 in the previous month.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News