Oil declined on Friday, but prices are still heading for a weekly gain as signs of strengthening demand from the US to China stoked optimism the recovery from the pandemic is accelerating.
Futures in New York dropped 0.6% after closing above $65 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since mid-March. Major American cities are moving to fully reopen, travel across China over an extended holiday that starts Saturday is expected to hit a record, and sales of transport fuels in the U.K. are rising. Big oil companies are also starting to reap the rewards of the recovery.