Crude prices muted on Thursday as signals that the U.S. Federal Reserve could continue raising interest rates were countered by optimism over improving Chinese demand and U.S. oil inventories reaching their highest levels in months.

Brent crude futures advanced to $85.39 per barrel, while U.S. WTI crude futures edged up $78.73 per barrel. The two main gauges rose by 7% for the week.

According to the Energy Information Administration, greater output helped crude oil stocks in the US surge last week to their highest level in eight months.

Nevertheless, when China, the world's second-largest oil importer, abandoned more than three years of a strict zero-COVID policy, the likelihood of greater demand from China helped to shore up oil prices.

1.0-million-barrel daily increase in China's oil consumption is anticipated this year, with robust growth beginning as early as the end of the first quarter, according to ANZ bank analysts.