17.11.202308:51:00UTC+00Oil Heads For Weekly Loss On Demand Concerns

Oil prices rose on Friday but headed for a fourth weekly loss after sinking into a bear market on signs of oversupply, rising stockpiles and concerns over waning demand in the U.S. and China.

Benchmark Brent crude futures climbed 0.7 percent to $77.95 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 0.8 percent at $73.50.

Crude prices slumped almost $4 a barrel to four-month lows on Thursday on growing concerns about oversupply and weakening demand following weak data from the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Oil's decline this week was also triggered by data showing a big increase in U.S. crude stockpiles and production sustaining at record levels.

A report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude stockpiles in the U.S. increased by 17.5 million barrels in the last two weeks.

Crude stocks rose by 3.6 million barrels last week to 421.9 million barrels, twice the expected increase.

Meanwhile, data from China's National Bureau of Statistics showed crude refining throughput in the country dropped 2.8 percent in October.

Analysts say that there are clearly concerns around demand going into next year, particularly around China.