Crude prices rose for the fourth straight day on Friday as the slowdown of US GDP growth in the second quarter raised hopes for more stimulus policies from the Federal Reserve.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that the US economic growth rate for the second quarter slowed to 1.5 percent from 1.9 percent in the first quarter, the weakest pace of growth since the third quarter of 2011.
Moreover, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final reading showed US consumer sentiment fell in July to its lowest level of the year.
Given the weak economy, more and more investors believed that the Fed would step in and announce further stimulus measures, especially after news showed that conversation inside the Fed has turned more intensely toward the questions of "how and when to move".
Besides, investors kept a close eye on the European Central Bank after its president Mario Draghi said the bloc's central bank would do "whatever it takes" to preserve the common-currency union.
Tension in the Middle East persisted, which also help lift the oil market. The violence and turmoil in Syria and tension between the West and Iran continued to weigh on the world's oil supplies.
But both US crude and Brent crude posted weekly losses.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 74 cents, or 0. 83 percent to settle at 90.13 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, it lost 1.31 dollars, or 1.43 percent.
In London, Brent crude for September delivery gained 1.21 dollars, or 1.15 percent to close at 106.47 dollars, losing 36 cents for the week.
