FX.co ★ Oil Futures Settle Lower, Shed More Than 11% In Week

Crude oil futures settled lower on Friday weighed down by concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to a likely global economic recession amid aggressive policy tightening by central banks.

It is feared that demand from China will likely see a drop due to the impact of Covid-19 infections, although the country has loosened some of the restrictions imposed.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for January ended lower by $0.44 or about 0.6% at $71.02 a barrel.

WTI crude futures shed about 11.6% in the week, the biggest weekly decline since the week ended March 25.

Brent crude futures settled at $76.10 a barrel, down slightly from the previous close.

Traders looked ahead to the monetary policy meetings of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, due next week.