Oil settles lower but posts weekly gain for second week

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices fell on Friday but recorded gains for the second straight week, backed by potential disruptions in Middle Eastern supply and the impact of Hurricane Milton on fuel demand in the US.

At the close, Brent crude futures for December delivery fell by 0.45%, or 36 cents, to $79.04 a barrel, though it rose by 1.25% over the week.

US WTI crude futures for November delivery declined by 0.4%, or 29 cents, to $75.56 a barrel, but achieved weekly gains of 1.6%.

Data from Baker Hughes showed that the number of active oil rigs in the US increased by two, reaching 481 rigs during the week ended October 11.

Meanwhile, Libya's National Oil Corporation announced that it had restored oil production to pre-crisis levels, reaching 1.25 million barrels a day after resolving the central bank crisis.