Oil prices set for weekly climb, but cloudy outlook caps gains | Reuters

Oil prices set for weekly climb, but cloudy outlook caps gains | Reuters

Oil prices were down slightly on Friday but set to rise on the week as recession fears eased though an uncertain demand outlook capped gains.

Brent crude futures were down 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $99.51 a barrel 0900 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 38 cents or 0.4% to $93.96 a barrel.

Brent was on track to rise more than 3% this week after last week's 14% tumble, its biggest weekly decline since April 2020 amid fears that rising inflation and interest rate hikes will hit economic growth and demand for fuel.

Uncertainty capped price gains as the market absorbed contrasting demand views from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

"While the peaking-inflation narrative has given some traction for risk assets lately, the more measured moves in oil prices since June suggest that some reservations remain in light of its cloudy demand outlook," said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG.