NEW YORK: Oil prices jumped about 4% to a five-week high on Friday, lifted again by an OPEC+ decision this week to make its largest supply cut since 2020 despite concern about a possible recession and rising interest rates.
Oil rallied for the fifth day in a row even as the dollar moved higher after data showing the US economy was creating jobs at a strong pace gave the Federal Reserve a reason to continue hefty interest rate hikes.
A strong greenback can pressure oil demand, making dollar-denominated crude more expensive for other currency holders.
Brent futures rose $3.50, or 3.7%, to settle at $97.92 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $4.19, or 4.7%, to end at $92.64.
That was the highest close for Brent since Aug. 30 and WTI since Aug. 29. The price jump pushed both benchmarks into technically overbought territory for the first time since August for Brent and June for WTI.
Both contracts posted their second straight weekly gains, and their biggest weekly percentage gains since March this week, with Brent was up about 11% and WTI 17% higher.
US heating oil futures jumped 19% this week to their highest close since June, boosting the heating oil crack spread a measure of refining profit margins - to its highest close on record, according to Refinitiv data going back to December 2009.
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