According to trading data, global oil prices were lower on Friday, but they are expected to finish the week in positive territory for the first time in a month.

The price of July futures for Brent crude oil fell by 0.95% to $75.14 per barrel, while June futures for WTI oil were down 1.13% to $71.05.

Since Monday, Brent has gained 1.5%, and WTI has risen by 1.6%. If this positive trend continues, it will mark the first weekly increase in oil prices since the beginning of April. Analysts attribute the support for commodity prices earlier in the week to the U.S. announcement of plans to purchase up to 3 million barrels of oil for the strategic reserve.

“Despite yesterday’s decline, oil prices look set to show their first positive week in more than a month. This week’s announcement that the U.S. will consider adding three million barrels to the strategic oil reserve … helped halt the decline,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, as quoted by Agence France-Presse.

On Friday, oilfield services company Baker Hughes released data on the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. The data showed that during the week ending on May 19, the number of active rigs decreased by 11 to 575 units.

Earlier, we reported that Gold fell in price – hawkish stance of Fed supports the dollar.