Oil futures declined on Friday, with U.S. prices holding on to a weekly rise of 4.6%. “Global central banks keep suggesting that they are going to win the war against inflation at any cost,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group. “One of the casualties the market fears could be a global recession that theoretically will reduce oil demand,” he said. However, “the reality is that demand destruction based on a mild recession won’t be as bad as people think — if you add to that the reopening of China.” The U.S. benchmark WTI crude for January delivery CLF23 fell $1.82, or 2.4%, to settle at $74.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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