Oil prices post weekly gain ahead of OPEC+ meeting | Reuters

Oil prices post weekly gain ahead of OPEC+ meeting | Reuters

Oil prices were mixed on Friday but posted a fourth straight week of gains ahead of an OPEC+ meeting early next week.

Brent crude January futures rose 38 cents to settle at $48.18 a barrel, while the more active February contract gained 46 cents to $48.25.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 18 cents to settle at $45.53 a barrel.

Brent rose 7.2% over the week, while WTI gained 8% for the week. Encouraging news on potential COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and others have lifted the markets. However, questions have been raised over AstraZeneca’s “vaccine for the world,” with several scientists sounding caution over the trial results.