Oil’s weekly gain confirmed despite latest decline

Oil prices dipped on Friday in mixed trading but notched its first weekly gain in five on Friday, underpinned by the possibility that OPEC+ will agree to cut crude output when it meets on October 5.

Brent crude futures for November, which expire on Friday, fell 53 cents, or 0.6%, to $87.96 a barrel. The more active December contract was down $2.07 at $85.11. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.74, or 2.1%, to $79.49.

Both contracts rose by more than $1 earlier in the session but dropped on news that OPEC’s oil output rose in September to its highest since 2020, surpassing a pledged hike for the month.

Price swings have become the norm as market players juggle worries over the global economy and the prospect of tightening oil supplies. Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by two to 604 this week.