NEW YORK, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices rose noticeably on Friday, bolstered by market optimism in the prospect of energy demand in China.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for December delivery added 2.49 U.S. dollars, or 2.9 percent, to settle at 88.96 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for January delivery added 2.32 dollars, or 2.5 percent, to close at 95.99 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The rally came as traders bet on a solid demand recovery in China amid the country's efforts to further optimize the COVID-19 response.
Also lending buoyancy to oil was a weaker U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 1.76 percent to 106.2950 in late trading on Friday, following a 2.12-percent dip in the prior session. Historically, the price of oil is inversely related to the price of the U.S. currency.
Despite Friday's advance, oil prices suffered a loss for the week. The WTI notched a weekly decline of 3.9 percent, while Brent fell 2.6 percent, based on the front-month contracts. ■