Mubasher: Oil prices rose earlier on Friday, paring fractionally losses endured during two days in the previous sessions on the back of steep falls in equity markets and mounting supply concerns.

However, both contracts were on track to record a weekly fall.

At 2:56 am GMT, US Nymex crude rose 0.4% to $71.23 per barrel (pb) after falling 3% in the previous session, the lowest since 21 September, while global benchmark Brent crude went up 0.4% also to $80.59 pb following a plunge of 3.4% to as low as $79.80, the steepest level since 24 September.

The US contract was on course to record a 4.2% weekly fall, while the international benchmark was also heading for a 4.2% weekly decline.

By 8:05 am GMT, Nymex futures jumped 1.03% to $71.70 pb, as Brent crude futures rose 1.05% to $81.10 pb.

Wall Street continued to post declines into a sixth sessions and a global equity index dipped to a one-year low on Thursday as investors were concerned about an escalating trade conflict between the US and China and risks from a recent jump in interest rates.

In the same vein, US crude stockpiles climbed by 6 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Thursday.

In addition, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lowered its projections for global oil demand growth for the next year, citing headwinds for the world economy as a result from trade disputes and erratic markets.

The producer group’s secretary general expected also that markets would be sufficiently supplied, cautious of creating a glut next year.

However, in the US, operators in the Gulf of Mexico trimmed their production by 40%, representing 680,107 barrels per day (bpd) on Thursday due to Hurricane Michael, the US Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement reported, citing reports from 30 companies.

That said, some producers started to return workers to offshore platforms.