Oil prices reached the end of the week lower, despite seeing its highest levels since 2014 on Wednesday amid disruptions in supply and geopolitical tensions.
International benchmark Brent crude started trading at $86.15 per barrel on Monday, and ended the session with a 0.38% rise to $86.48.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $83.84 per barrel starting the day on Monday.
Prices increased on Monday over sustained, tight supply and on investor hopes that the omicron variant will not push global demand lower.
On Tuesday, oil prices increased, on supply woes after an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group on oil facilities in Abu Dhabi, and supply disruptions from the inability of some OPEC+ countries in meeting their monthly quotas.
On late Tuesday the 1,876 kilometer-long key pipeline that carries crude oil from northern Iraq for export from Turkiye's southern port of Ceyhan was knocked offline by an explosion.
On Wednesday, oil prices climbed to their highest level in the last seven years, due to continued geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Russia.
Brent hit $89.17 and WTI reached $87.91 during the mid-week day.
Tensions in the Middle East continued while another threat for supply chains arose when Russia, Ukraine and NATO stepped up military exercises, with Kyiv openly accusing Moscow of planning an invasion.
After being on the rise for most of the week, oil prices were down on Friday, erasing weekly gains.
The drop came after an unexpected build in gasoline stockpiles in the US.
Gasoline inventories in the country increased by 5.9 million barrels during the week ending Jan. 14, reaching their highest since February 2021, while crude oil inventories rose by 500,000 barrels to 413.9 million barrels, far above the market expectation of a 1.4 million-barrel drop.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $87.09 per barrel at 1250 GMT for a 1.45% decrease after closing the previous session at $88.38 a barrel.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $84.19 per barrel at the same time for a 3.11% loss after trade in the previous session ended at $86.90 a barrel.
By Zeynep Beyza Kilic
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr