Oil falls 3%, posts weekly drop on demand concerns

Oil prices fell more than 3% on Friday and posted their biggest weekly decline since June as fears of a slow economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic compounded worries about weak oil demand.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell $1.41, or 3.2%, to settle at $42.66 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell $1.6, or 3.9%, to settle at $39.77 a barrel.

Brent fell 5.3% from last week, while WTI lost 7.4%.

Prices were pressured by extended declines in the US equities market and by a report showing USjob growth slowed further in August as financial assistance from the government ran out.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 1.37 million jobs last month, though employment remained 11.5 million below its pre-pandemic level and the jobless rate was 4.9 percentage points higher than in February.