Oil prices, which eased slightly on Friday, were on track to end higher for a second straight week following a large cut in U.S. interest rates and declining global stockpiles.

Brent futures, which were trading 12 cents, or 0.2%, lower at $73.76 a barrel at 0658 GMT on Friday, gained 4.3% this week. U.S. WTI crude futures, which were down 15 cents, or 0.2% at $71.80 a barrel, registered weekly gains of 4.8%.

The benchmarks have been recovering after they fell to near three year-lows on Sept. 10, and have registered gains in five of the seven sessions since then.

Prices pared some gains on Friday, after rising more than 1% on Thursday following the U.S. central bank's decision to cut interest rates by half a percentage point on Wednesday. Interest rate cuts typically boost economic activity and energy demand, but some also see it as a sign of a weak U.S. labour market.

Source: Reuters