Oil futures settled lower on Friday, pressured by signs of faltering gasoline demand in the middle of summer driving season, with U.S. prices holding below $100 a barrel but the front-month September contract posting a weekly gain. Price action
West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery
CL00,
-1.31%
CL.1,
-1.31%
CLU22,
-1.31%
fell $1.65, or 1.7%, to settle at $94.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices finished nearly 3% below the week-ago $97.59 settlement of the previous front-month August contract. The September contract, which became the front month at the end of Wednesday’s trading session, ended roughly 0.1% higher for the week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
September Brent crude
BRNU22,
+0.39%,
the global benchmark, lost 66 cents, or 0.6%, to $103.20 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, ending 2% above the front-month finish of $101.16 a week ago. October Brent
BRN00,
+0.38%
BRNV22,
+0.38%,
the most actively traded contract, fell $1.10, or 1.1%, at $98.38.
Back on Nymex, August gasoline
RBQ22,
+2.34%
added 2.3% to $3.2228 a gallon, with prices up 0.3% for the week, while August heating oil
HOQ22,
-3.05%
lost nearly 3.8% at $3.4556 a gallon — down 6.6% from a week ago.
August natural gas
NGQ22,
+4.70%
rose 4.6% to $8.299 per million British thermal units, ending the week more than 18% higher.
Market drivers “Demand destruction is finally happening,” with Energy In …