Oil falls in biggest weekly decline in months on demand worries | Reuters

Oil falls in biggest weekly decline in months on demand worries | Reuters

Oil prices fell about 1% lower on Friday, posting to their steepest weekly losses in months, on worries that travel restrictions to curb the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 will derail the global recovery in energy demand.

Crude futures also came under pressure as the dollar strengthened after monthly U.S. job growth came in higher than expected. A stronger dollar makes greenback-denominated oil more expensive for buyers in other currencies. read more

Brent crude oil futures settled down 59 cents, or 0.8%,at $70.70, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 81, or 1.2%, to settle at $68.28 a barrel.

For the week, global benchmark Brent shed more than 6%, its largest week of losses in four months, and WTI tumbled nearly 7% in its biggest weekly decline in nine months.

"The price action we see now is really a function of the macro picture," said Howie Lee, an economist at Singapore bank OCBC. "The Delta variant is now really starting to hit home and you see risk aversion in many markets, not just oil."