After rising 7% over the previous four weeks, Brent oil futures fell 2 cents to $87.41 a barrel by 01:43 GMT.
With expectations of robust summer fuel demand and some supply worries, oil prices were little changed in Asian trading on Friday, but they remained on course for a fourth consecutive week of increases and held close to their best levels since late April.
After rising 7% over the previous four weeks, Brent oil futures fell 2 cents to $87.41 a barrel by 01:43 GMT.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for the United States increased by 9 cents from Wednesday's finish to $83.97. Over the last four weeks, these futures have advanced by 9%. There was no settlement for WTI and little trade on Thursday due to the U.S. market being closed for the Fourth of July vacation.
The world's top oil user, the United States, had high hopes for summer consumption, which caused oil prices to rise this week.
Analysts at ANZ Research said in a report on Friday that "strong mobility indicators and intensifying geopolitical tension in the Middle East have supported market sentiment this week."
Compared to experts' projections of a drop of 700,000 barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced a large reduction in stocks last week of 12.2 million barrels. [S/EIA]
According to U.S. statistics released on Wednesday, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time surged last week along with the unemployment rate, which experts suggested may accelerate interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve of the United States and boost the oil market.
Regarding supplies, Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil will drastically reduce oil shipments from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk starting in July, according to a Reuters story published on Thursday.
Underscoring the strain faced by OPEC producers as non-OPEC supply rises, Saudi Aramco, a company based in Saudi Arabia, lowered the price of its trademark Arab Light oil, which it will export to Asia in August, to $1.80 per barrel over the Oman/Dubai average.
According to observers, traders were also keeping an eye on the elections in France and the UK, as well as the conflict in Gaza.
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