Oil was poised to eke out a fourth weekly gain on signs of tightening supply, with liquidity falling to the lowest since January.

West Texas Intermediate was steady near $76 a barrel, and is up 0.5% for the week. Russian flows showed signs of dropping this week and Saudi Arabia is also cutting output, while China, the biggest importer, is stepping up efforts to boost its flagging economic recovery. 

Traders seem to be trying to reduce their exposure to oil futures markets, with open interest in WTI falling sharply over the last week. 

Crude has been rallying since late June on signs the market is tightening, but is still lower for the year. China's lackluster recovery has been a major drag on demand this year, as has the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening. 

The US central bank is expected to raise rates next week and odds for a further move higher went up slightly after initial jobless claims data released Thursday pointed to labor market strength. 

WTI for September delivery rose 0.2% to $75.76 a barrel at 8:58 a.m. in Singapore. Brent for September settlement rose 0.1% to $79.71 a barrel.

Source : Bloomberg