08:50 AM EDT, 08/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices rose early on Friday, advancing for a second day after falling to a seven-month low on Wednesday on demand concerns and diminishing geopolitical worries.

West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery was last seen up US$1.39 to US$74.40 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up US$1.24 to US$78.46.

Even as oil recovers, the odds prices will again test this year's highs are seen as slim because demand in China, the No.1 importer, remains subdued as the country's economy stumbles. At the same time, the risks of a wider Middle Eastern war that could threaten Persian Gulf supplies fade.

Expectations OPEC will begin returning 2.2-million barrels per day of voluntary cuts to the market in the fourth quarter are also keeping a lid on prices.

"The window for a fundamentally driven constructive view on the oil complex has been closing," wrote Brian Leisen, global oil strategist at RBC Capital Markets. "The most common, relatively constructive view is that prices will remain in a tight range around the $80/bbl Brent mark ... In the medium term, slowing economic activity, weakness in Asia, and softer refinery margins all don't bode well for crude prices going into year-end."

The prospect of lower U.S. interest rates offering an economic boost to the country's economy may offer support to oil. The market will be watching a morning speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for any potential confirmation the central bank will meet expectations and begin lowering interest rates at the September meeting of its policy committee.

"Focus is very much on Chair Powell's speech today at the Jackson Hole but with more data such as August jobs report and CPI due ahead of the Fed's September meeting, it may remain hard for him to signal rate cuts that match the market's pricing," Saxo Bank noted.