Oil Futures Shrug Off Most of Weekly Gains

Oil prices declined on Friday, as data showed a surprise increase in crude inventories in the United States, and amid the rise of the U.S. Dollar (USD).

In addition, the resurgence of the Coronavirus pandemic in many parts across the world has spurred concerns about the recovery of the global demand for oil.

Brent crude futures for March delivery closed lower by 69 cents, or 1.2%, at $55.41 per barrel, reducing its weekly gains to 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for March delivery lost 86 cents, or 1.6%, to finish at $52.27 per barrel, turning to a weekly loss of 0.3% for the week.

Earlier today, the weekly report of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that crude inventories in the U.S. increased by 4.4 million barrels last week.