2024.03.1509:42:00UTC+00Oil Prices Slip From Four-month Highs

Oil prices slipped on Friday but were set for strong weekly gains amid signs of a tightening market.

Benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.8 percent to $84.72 a barrel after reaching a four-month high in the previous session. WTI crude futures were down 0.8 percent at $80.64.

Oil prices remain on course for a 4 percent weekly gain as the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised upward its global demand growth forecast and data from the Energy Information Administration showed crude inventories dropped by 1.5 million barrels last week.

Oil prices also found support from the Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia. It is estimated that the attacks on Russian oil refineries have damaged around 12 percent of Russia's total oil-processing capacity.

While trend and momentum indicators underpinned prices, hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation readings and fears of a hawkish shift from the Fed at next week's meeting put investors on tenterhooks.

On the data front, China's new home prices dropped for an eighth straight month in February, official data showed earlier today, underscoring calls for more policy support.

Data due Monday is expected to show year-on-year growth in China's retail sales and industrial output slowed from December.