WTI records fourth consecutive weekly increase

U.S. crude oil fell on Friday, but still posted a fourth straight weekly gain as falling inventories showed rising demand.

West Texas Intermediate hit a session high of $84.52 a barrel, its highest level since late April, before retreating. The U.S. benchmark has gained about 2% this week, while global benchmark Brent has gained 0.15%.

Here are the energy prices at Friday's close:

• West Texas IntermediateAugust contract: $83.16 a barrel, down 72 cents, or 0.86%. Year-to-date, U.S. crude has gained 16.1%.
• BrentSeptember contract: $86.54 a barrel, down 89 cents, or 1.02%. Year-to-date, the global benchmark is up 12.3%.
• RBOB Gasoline Contract in August: $2.56 per gallon, down 3 cents, or 1.31%. Year-to-date, gasoline is up 22.1%.
• Natural gasAugust contract: $2.32 per thousand cubic feet, down 9 cents, or 3.85%. Year-to-date, gas is down 7.5%.

Oil market analysts are predicting a tightening market in the third quarter as demand for fuel increases this summer. U.S. inventory data appears to confirm those forecasts, with crude inventories falling by 12.2 million barrels and gasoline stocks falling by 2.2 million barrels last week.

“As oil inventories begin to decline due to solid demand and limited supply growth, investors have started to rebuild their exposure to oil,” Giovanni Staunovo, commodities analyst at UBS, told clients in a note published Thursday.

WTI vs Brent

UBS forecasts global oil demand to rise by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) this year, above the long-term growth rate of 1.2 million bpd. The bank expects inventories to draw more heavily in the coming weeks as OPEC+ maintains its production cuts through September.

“So we think Brent will probably hit $90 a barrel this quarter,” Staunovo said. JPMorgan also forecast that Brent will hit $90 a barrel in August or September.

Don't miss these energy insights from CNBC PRO:

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