Oil falls 2 percent as demand worries overtake supply cuts | Reuters

Oil falls 2 percent as demand worries overtake supply cuts | Reuters:

Oil prices settled down about 2 percent on Friday, ending around 3 percent lower on the week as concerns over global demand growth after weak U.S. manufacturing data overshadowed OPEC-led supply cuts and sanctions on Venezuela and Iran.

After strengthening early in the session to over a three-month high, U.S. crude futures turned sharply lower on demand worries. The ISM manufacturing activity index in February sank to the lowest since November 2016, and was below expectations.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures fell $1.42, or 2.5 percent, to settle at $55.80 per barrel, after hitting $57.88, its highest since mid-November.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures for May settled $1.24, or 1.9 percent, lower at $65.07 a barrel.