Oil Finished the Week with Mixed Performance

Oil prices declined on Friday, finishing the week on a mixed note with growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant and the subsequent effect on the recovery of demand for energy.

Brent crude futures for October delivery lost 72 cents, or 1%, to finish at $70.59 per barrel, turning to a slight weekly decline of 0.2%.

Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for September delivery finished lower by 65 cents, or 0.94%, at $68.44 a barrel, in its highest daily loss since August 9, limiting its weekly rise to 0.2%.

Earlier, data showed that the U.S. oil rig count increased by 10 to 397 this week, in its biggest rise since the beginning of April.

The latest OPEC maintained expectations for the growth in oil demand this year.