Oil heads for biggest weekly gains in over a year ahead of Storm Ida | Reuters

Oil heads for biggest weekly gains in over a year ahead of Storm Ida | Reuters

Oil prices rose more than 2% on Friday and were on track for their biggest weekly gains in over a year as energy firms began shutting production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico ahead of a major hurricane expected to hit early next week.

Brent futures rose $1.56, or 2.2%, to $72.63 a barrel by 11:51 a.m. EDT (1551 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.48, or 2.2%, to $68.90.

That puts Brent on track for its highest close since Aug. 2 and WTI on track for its highest close since Aug. 12.

For the week, both benchmarks were up about 11%, which would be their biggest weekly percentage gains since June 2020.