By Enes Tunagur

LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices held steady on Friday, remaining poised for weekly gains after closing the previous session at their highest in more than two months, underpinned by colder European and U.S. weather and additional economic stimulus flagged by China.

futures were down 9 cents at $75.84 a barrel by 1212 GMT after settling on Thursday at the highest level since Oct. 25. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dipped by 6 cents to $73.07, with Thursday’s close its highest since Oct. 14.

Brent was on track for a 2.2% weekly gain while WTI was set for a 3.5% increase.

Signs of Chinese economic fragility heightened expectations of policy measures to boost growth in the world’s top oil importer.

“As China’s economic trajectory is poised to play a pivotal role in 2025, hopes are pinned on government stimulus measures to drive increased consumption and bolster oil demand growth in the months ahead,” said StoneX analyst Alex Hodes.

China announced a couple of new measures to boost growth for its fragile economy this week with a surprise move to raise wages for government workers and announcement of a sharp increase in funding from ultra-long treasury bonds. The additional funding is to be used to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives.

Oil is likely to have gained some price support from expected increased demand for after forecasts for colder weather in some regions.

“Oil demand is likely benefiting from cold temperatures across Europe and the U.S.,” said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Also supporting prices this week, stockpiles dropped by 1.2 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels, EIA data showed.

Meanwhile, U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories jumped as refineries ramped up output, though fuel demand hit a two-year low.

(Reuters) -A Russian court has ordered internet company Yandex (NASDAQ:) to hide access to maps and photos of one of Russia’s largest oil refineries due to repeated attacks by Ukrainian drones, state news agency TASS reported on Friday.

Yandex, often referred to as “Russia’s Google (NASDAQ:)”, operates the country’s largest search engine and other online services like maps, translate and email, as well as ride-hailing and food delivery.

The court in Moscow ordered Yandex to exclude information about the refinery’s infrastructure from its search results by removing and editing images of workshops, compressor stations and other parts of the plant from Yandex Maps, TASS reported.

It was not clear which refinery the court decision referred to, but TASS said the facility had been attacked four times by Ukrainian drones in 2024.

Ukraine has staged numerous strikes on Russian oil storage facilities and refineries, responding to Moscow’s February 2022 invasion and repeated attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

The court’s decision can be appealed. Yandex declined to comment.

The refinery had tried to resolve the issue directly with Yandex before taking the matter to court, TASS said. The claimant argued that the availability of information about the refinery online undermined Russia’s defence capability and negatively impacted the armed forces.