LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) - Oil prices extended losses on

Friday, pressured by lingering concerns that sticky inflation

could prolong higher interest rates and curb fuel demand.

Brent crude futures fell by 58 cents, or 0.71%, to

$80.78 a barrel by 0952 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)

crude futures were down 59 cents, or 0.77%, at $76.28.

Both benchmarks settled at multi-month lows on Thursday,

with Brent closing at its weakest since Feb. 7 and U.S. crude at

its lowest since Feb. 23.

The contracts were heading for weekly declines of about 4%

and 5% respectively, with Brent set for a fifth consecutive

daily decline for its longest losing streak of the year.

"The backdrop of potentially higher-for-longer rates weighed

significantly on oil prices this week," said Phillip Nova

analyst Priyanka Sachdeva.

Minutes released on Wednesday from the Fed's latest policy

meeting showed policymakers were questioning whether interest

rates are high enough to tame stubborn inflation.

Some officials said they would be willing to raise borrowing

costs again if inflation surged. Fed Chair Jerome Powell and

other policymakers, however, have since said they feel further

increases are unlikely.

High interest rates increase the cost of borrowing, which

can slow economic activity and dampen demand for oil.

"Macroeconomic developments have been failing to provide

meaningful support for oil," PVM analyst Tamas Varga said. "It

is a fair bet that rate cuts are slipping away."

Investors will be turning their attention to a June 2 online

meeting of the OPEC+ producer group comprising the Organization

of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to discuss

whether to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million

barrels per day.

"After the OPEC+ meeting the market is likely to

increasingly focus on demand again. The upcoming Memorial Day

weekend marks the start of the summer driving season in the

U.S.," said Commerzbank analyst Barbara Lambrecht.

U.S. gasoline product supplied, a proxy for demand, reached

its highest level since November in the week to May 17, the

Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.