03:24 PM EDT, 07/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices declined in Friday afternoon trade but were on track to register fourth straight weekly gains.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.7% at $83.31 per barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while Brent fell 0.4% to $87.11. Both were still headed for fourth consecutive weekly increases, with WTI up more than 2.1% this week.

"Oil remains bid trading at the highest levels since April as positive economic growth drivers and tighter supply are underpinning higher oil prices," Saxo Bank said in a Friday note. "Crude oil and especially the fuel products trade higher as Hurricane Beryl raises concerns of a supercharged storm season disrupting production and flow of crude and fuel products to and from the Gulf of Mexico."

Beryl, downgraded to a tropical storm, made landfall along Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Friday morning, according to AccuWeather. Beryl was expected to make landfall near the Texas and Mexico border Sunday evening or early Monday.

Saxo Bank said last week it had a "constructive view" on oil demand into the ongoing quarter amid strong summer demand for fuel towards mobility and cooling.

Separately, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group said in a report dated Friday that sentiment in the oil market this week was aided by strong mobility indicators and "intensifying" geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

On Wednesday, US government data showed that commercial crude stockpiles in the country fell more than expected last week.

ANZ said the inventories data were consistent with a "tightening" market balance. "While the upside was limited," the supply risk from Beryl is easing, the firm wrote, adding that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are continuing to overproduce despite pledges to compensate for such a move.

One of the key economic data released this week was the official jobs report for June, which showed Friday that the US economy added more jobs than expected last month while the unemployment rate unexpectedly edged higher.