On Friday, oil prices appeared to be about to end a seven consecutive week winning streak as worries over China's sluggish economic growth and the potential for additional interest rate increases outweighed indications of tighter supply.

Brent crude edged up 0.1% at $84.12 per barrel meanwhile US WTI climbed by 0.3% to $80.61 per barrel.

For both criteria this year, the winning streak of seven weeks was the longest. In the seven weeks that concluded on August 11, Brent futures increased by almost 18% and WTI by more than 20%, reaching their highest points in months. However, this week, both contracts had losses of more than 3%, erasing part of their gains.

The U.S. Labor Department announced on Thursday that fewer Americans had filed new applications for unemployment benefits over the previous week, suggesting that the still-tight labor market may prolong the Fed's drive to tighten monetary policy and slow the economy.

Following similarly encouraging economic statistics previously in the week, such as U.S. retail sales, this report suggested the Fed would need to maintain higher rates for a longer period of time.