Oil falls on U.S. inventory build, profit taking | Reuters

Oil falls on U.S. inventory build, profit taking | Reuters

Oil prices fell on Friday, after rising to seven-year highs this week, after an unexpected rise in U.S. crude and fuel inventories and as investors took profits.

Brent crude futures were down $1.49, or 1.6%, to $86.89 a barrel by 1010 GMT. The contract earlier fell by as much as 3%, the most since Dec. 20. A day earlier the global benchmark touched fresh 7-year highs of $89.50 a barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slid $1.52, or 1.7%, to $84.03 a barrel. The contract fell as much as 3.2%, also the most since Dec. 20, after rising to its highest since October 2014 on Wednesday.

The recent rally in crude prices appeared to run out of steam on Thursday when Brent and WTI ended the trading session with slim losses, but both benchmarks have gained more than 10% this year and are headed for a fifth straight weekly gain.