Oil ends lower, with U.S. prices holding below $100 a barrel

Oil futures ended lower on Friday, with U.S. prices holding below $100 a barrel and the front-month contract posting a modest rise for the week. “Demand destruction is finally happening,” with Energy Information Administration numbers showing gasoline demand getting softer, said Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors. Still, energy prices will be “extremely volatile and…regain $100 in the short term,” he said, adding that “we do feel risk is to the upside as we are in [Atlantic] hurricane season.” September West Texas Intermediate crude CLU22, -1.31% fell $1.65, or 1.7%, to settle at $94.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was 2.9% below the week-ago settlement of $97.59 for the August contract, which was the front month. The September contract, which became the front month at the end of Wednesday’s trading session, ended the week roughly 0.1% higher for the week.