Global oil prices drop, notching weekly loss

Oil prices fell on Friday, suffering a loss for the week.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery dropped 1.33 US dollars, or 1.6 per cent, to settle at $79.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for March delivery lost 81 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to close at $86.66 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

"It looks that traders rushed to take some profits off the table ahead of the weekend," Vladimir Zernov, an analyst with market information supplier FX Empire, said on Friday.

For the week, the WTI dipped 2.4 per cent, while Brent lost 1.1 per cent, based on the front-month contracts.