Oil drops as virus surge sparks demand fears; on track towards weekly gain

Oil prices were seen struggling during their early trade on Friday. This followed after an increase in new coronavirus infections sparked concerns about the global economy and short-term fuel demand. But with vaccine optimism still in the air, oil prices were expected to record another week of gain.

After shedding 0.8% on Thursday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures recorded a 1.0% drop on Friday. Meanwhile, Brent crude fell further with a 0.8% decrease, following its 0.8% drop monitored the previous day. Despite their weak sessions, both were on track for about a 10% surge this week.  

Data from the United States had wrought in more pressure as crude inventories advanced by 4.3 million barrels last week. The figure came larger than the expected fall of 913,000 barrels.