Oil rises 4% in week as energy crunch shows no signs of easing | Reuters

Oil rises 4% in week as energy crunch shows no signs of easing | Reuters

Oil rose on Friday, gaining about 4% on the week as a global energy crunch boostedU.S. prices to their highest in almost seven years as big power users struggle to meet demand.

Even with worldwide demand growing as economic activity rebounds from pandemic lows, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) this week said they would remain on the path of gradually bringing back production.

Meanwhile the U.S. government said it was monitoring energy markets, but it did not announce immediate action to lower prices, such as a release from strategic petroleum reserves, which further supported the oil market. read more

Brent crude futures rose 44 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $82.39 a barrel. Earlier in the week, the global benchmark hit a three-year high of $83.47.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.05, or 1.3%, to end at $79.35. That was the highest close for the U.S. benchmark since Oct. 31, 2014.

U.S. gasoline futures also closed at their highest since October 2014 on Friday.