Oil Retreats, But Heads for Third Weekly Rise

Oil prices slipped on Friday but were set for their third weekly rise on expectations for a recovery in fuel demand in Europe, China and the United States, as rising vaccination rates lead to an easing of pandemic curbs.
Brent crude futures fell 16 cents, or 0.22%, to $72.36 a barrel, after closing at its highest since May 2019 on Thursday, Reuters reported.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 9 cents, or 0.13%, to $70.20 a barrel, after climbing 0.5% on Thursday to its highest close since October 2018. Brent is set for a weekly rise of 0.7% while WTI is set to gain 0.8%.
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will supply full volumes of July-loading crude to its Asian customers.
Gasoline inventories in the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer, rose by 7 million barrels in the week to June 4, and distillate stockpiles rose by 4.4 million barrels, both much more than analysts had expected.
Additionally, data showing road traffic returning to pre-Covid-19 levels in North America and most of Europe were encouraging.
Even the jet fuel market is showing signs of improvement, with flights in Europe rising 17% over the past two weeks, according to Eurocontrol.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reinforced the view of healthy demand, sticking to its forecast that demand in 2021 would rise by 5.95 million barrels per day, up 6.6% from a year earlier.
"Overall, the recovery in global economic growth, and hence oil demand, are expected to gain momentum in the second half," OPEC said.