On Friday, oil prices eased as the market was hit by supply concerns over unrest in Kazakhstan and production restrictions in Libya.

Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.3%, to $ 81.75 a barrel. West Texas crude futures were down 56 cents, or 0.7%, at $ 78.90 a barrel.

Both definitions are set to record an increase of almost 5% Prices reached in the first week of the year Its maximum levels since the end of November have been driven by supply concerns.

The streets of Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, appeared to be under control by security forces on Friday, a day after Russia sent troops to counter an uprising, and the president announced that most constitutional order would be restored.

Libya’s production fell to 729,000 barrels a day, up from 1.3 million barrels a day last year, largely due to pipeline maintenance.

The two-dollar index rose during the previous session, but the US job market was under pressure with the stock market and the dollar after US employment numbers fell lower than expected.

At the same time, the increase in supply from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the OPEC + Group, which includes Russia and its allies, has not kept pace with growing demand.

OPEC production in December increased by 70,000 bpd over the previous month, far short of the 253,000 bpd increase allowed under the OPEC + agreement, which brought back a reduction in output in 2020 when demand fell under coveted closures.