Oil Prices Extend Gains 

Oil prices rose for a second session on Friday as the prospect of lower exports from Russia offset rising inventories in the United States.
Brent crude futures rose 66 cents, or 0.8%, to $82.87 per barrel. WT rose 62 cents, or 0.8%, to $76.01, Money.usnews.com reported.
The benchmarks ended about 2% higher in the previous session on Russia's plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March, which exceeded its announced production cuts of 500,000 barrels per day.
"Higher-than-expected US crude oil inventories continue to challenge the oil demand outlook, but expectations for lower Russian production have an offsetting impact," said Yeap Jun Rong, a market strategist at IG.
US inventories are at their highest level since May 2021.
US crude stocks rose by 7.6 million barrels to about 479 million barrels in the week to Feb. 17, data from the US Energy Information Administration said.
For the week, oil prices are slightly lower, after the previous week's 4% decline, dragged also by concerns about rising interest rates that could strengthen the dollar and curb fuel demand.
Minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting indicated that a majority of officials remained hawkish on inflation and tight labor market conditions.