Oil dropped by about 2% on Friday, logging a second weekly decline, due to concern about weakened demand in China and further increases to U.S. interest rates.
Brent crude settled at $87.62 a barrel, falling $2.16, or 2.4%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $80.08 a barrel, losing $1.56, or 1.9%.
Both benchmarks posted weekly losses, with Brent down about 9% and WTI roughly 10%.
A stronger U.S. dollar, which makes oil more expensive to non-American buyers, pushed down crude prices. The market structure of both oil benchmarks shifted in ways that reflect dwindling supply concerns.
The current WTI contract is now trading at a discount to the second month, a structure known as contango, for the first time since 2021, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. This condition will also benefit those looking to put more oil in inventories for later, especially with stocks still at low levels.
Brent was still in the opposite structure, backwardation, though the premium of nearby Brent over barrels loading in six months fell as low as $3 a barrel, the lowest since April.
