Oil prices rose during the day as signs of rising demand in China, the world's second-largest oil consumer, although the prices on track to record a second week of losses on rising US inventories and fears of a trade war that would curb economic activity.
US crude rose to a daily high of $ 69.40 a barrel, while Brent crude rose to $ 80.24 a barrel. Over the course of the week, Brent crude fell by 0.5% while US crude fell by 3.2%.
Government data showed that refinery output in China, the world's largest oil importer, rising to a record 12.49 million bpd in September.
US crude inventories rose by 6.5 million barrels last week, marking a fourth week in a row of rising. Inventories rose sharply even as US crude oil production fell by 300,000 bpd to 10.9 million last week as some facilities temporarily closed due to Hurricane Michael.
At the same time, Iran's oil exports rose in October before US sanctions were imposed on Nov. 4. An unprecedented amount of Iranian oil is expected to arrive to China this month and in early November.
