Oil hits highest in almost 3 years as supply tightens | Reuters

Oil hits highest in almost 3 years as supply tightens | Reuters

Oil prices rose for a third week in a row to a near three-year high on Friday as global output disruptions have forced energy companies to pull large amounts of crude out of inventories.

The rally was slightly dampened by China's first public sale of state crude reserves.

Brent futures rose 84 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $78.09 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 68 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $73.98.

That was the highest close for Brent since October 2018 and for WTI since July 2021, both for a second day in a row.

It was the third week of gains for Brent and the fifth for WTI mostly due to U.S. Gulf Coast output disruptions from Hurricane Ida in late August.