Despite several countries around the world facing an increase in cases of the Delta variant, oil prices ended the week higher.

The price per barrel of Brent, Algeria's oil benchmark, for the September contract, which expired on Friday, rose 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $76.33 a barrel. The October contract ended the session, meanwhile, up 31 cents at $75.41 a barrel. Thus, Brent recorded a fourth monthly gain, with demand for crude rising faster than supply, as vaccinations should mitigate the impact of a resurgence in Covid-19 infections around the world, according to the analysts.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.5%, to end the session at $73.95 a barrel. Over the week, Brent gained 3%, while West Texas Intermediate rose 2.60%. Black gold prices accelerated, despite the appreciation of the dollar, whose course is often correlated with that of oil, in the opposite direction.