Oil prices were lower on Friday but largely held gains that had prices flirting with multi-month highs, as the cleanup after hurricanes in the United States gathered pace and the outlook for demand took on a firmer tone.

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In other markets, typically safe haven assets like the yen and gold xau

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude clc1

Brent crude lcoc1

"The psychological barrier of $50 per barrel remains a big hurdle for WTI, after it failed to settle above it once again," ANZ bank said in a research note.

Nevertheless, U.S. crude is on track for a nearly 5 percent gain this week, buoyed by the return of refineries after Hurricane Harvey and stronger indications of demand.

Brent is heading for a 3 percent gain and a third consecutive weekly rise.

On Wednesday, the IEA said a global oil glut was shrinking thanks to strong European and U.S. demand, as well as production declines in OPEC and non-OPEC countries.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earlier forecast higher demand for its oil in 2018 and pointed to signs of a tighter global market, indicating its production-cutting deal with non-member countries is helping to tackle a supply glut.

BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley told Reuters in an interview that oil prices were likely to stay between $50 and $60 as major producers kept output restricted.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)