Oil prices climbed on Friday, paring their loss for the week to less than 4%. The crude-oil market is caught between “unforgiving inflation and a resurgent job market,” said Manish Raj, managing director at Velandera Energy Partners. An “unrelentless jobs report” and a dull outlook from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell “reaffirmed the conviction that the Fed has no choice but to raise rates further.” Still, Matt Parry, head of long-term research at Energy Aspects, said the second half of this year should see tight fundamentals, with China potentially seeing “a faster, less complicated reopening,” supporting higher energy demand. April West Texas Intermediate crude CLJ23, +1.27% rose 96 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $76.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices for the front-month contract down 3.8% for the week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
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