Oil prices rose on Friday and headed for a second week of gains, as investors were upbeat that fuel demand will start to grow despite a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in some places in the world. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that US oil inventories showed clear signs of trending lower, amid a recovery in consumption while Saudi Arabia restricts output and directs volumes away from North America. At the same time, China’s refinery output surged 12% yoy in July, which was the highest on record, as several major state plants resued their operations after maintenance. On the supply side, Russian news agencies reported that Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak had not expected quick decisions on production cuts when OPEC+ monitoring committee meets next week. At around 05:00 AM GMT, WTI crude rose 0.3% to $42.35 a barrel. Brent crude also advanced 0.3% to $45.11 a barrel.
