Oil prices fall, record weekly loss of over 4%

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices declined on Friday, as efforts to end the war in Ukraine continued—potentially paving the way for increased Russian supplies to global markets—pushing crude to post weekly losses.

Brent crude futures for February delivery fell 0.26%, or $0.16, to $61.12 per barrel, marking a 4.12% decline for the week.

Meanwhile, WTI (Nymex) crude futures for January delivery slipped 0.28%, or $0.16, to $57.44 per barrel, recording a weekly loss of 4.40%.

The move came as markets awaited a European–Ukrainian summit scheduled for early next week in Berlin, aimed at resuming discussions on the US peace plan.

Oil prices received partial support from certain developments, including Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s fourth-largest oil refinery, which led to its disruption, in addition to escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and Venezuela, and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut this week.

The European Union intensified pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine and decided to freeze Moscow’s sovereign assets until the conflict ends and Kyiv is compensated for the damages incurred.

The number of oil drilling rigs in the US increased one unit to 414 during the week ending Dec. 12, data released on Friday by Baker Hughes showed.

The rig count rose a second consecutive week, signaling a potential increase in crude oil production going forward.