Oil prices held steady on Friday but remained on track for a fourth consecutive weekly decline, as signs of weak growth in global fuel demand outweighed fears of supply disruption in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures rose 18 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $79.70 a barrel by 10:40 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures gained 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $76.47 a barrel.
Both benchmarks have lost more than 7% over the past four weeks, marking the longest run of weekly losses this year.
Economic data from top oil importer China and a survey indicating weaker manufacturing activity across Asia, Europe, and the United States have heightened the risk of a sluggish global economic recovery, which would weigh on oil consumption.
Declining manufacturing activity in China also pressured prices, adding to concerns about demand growth after June data showed imports and refinery activity lower than a year earlier.
Asia’s crude oil imports in July fell to their lowest in two years, sapped by weak demand in China and India, according to data from LSEG Oil Research.
Meanwhile, an OPEC+ meeting on Thursday kept the group’s oil output policy unchanged, including a plan to start unwinding one layer of production cuts from October.
Oil investors are also monitoring developments in the Middle East, where the killing of senior leaders of Iran-aligned militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah has stoked fears of the region being on the brink of all-out war, threatening to disrupt supplies.
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