Spurred by growing expectations that the US central bank will soon start cutting interest rates and firming complex refining margins, oil prices rose on Friday in Asian trade and rose are preparing for a third consecutive weekly increase.

Brent crude futures for the August settlement, which expire on Friday, rose 48 cents, or 0.56% to $86.87 per barrel at 06:20 GMT. The Brent contract for September was up 0.53% to $85.71 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for delivery in August rose 52 cents, or 0.64%, to $82.26 per barrel. Brent and WTI futures have gained nearly 2% so far this week, with both benchmarks also on track to record gains of just over 6% month-over-month

ANZ analysts reported that “crude oil rose slightly despite weak fundamentals in the short term.”