Oil gains

New York : Crude futures steadied on Friday after climbing to four-year highs earlier this week, and both Brent and U.S. crude marked weekly gains ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 1 cent to settle at $74.34 a barrel.Global benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 futures for December delivery fell 42 cents to settle at $84.16 a barrel. On Wednesday, Brent hit its highest price since late 2014, at $86.74.

“They’re taking a pause after yesterday’s sell-off,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. WTI’s weekly gain was about 1.3 percent; Brent’s was around 1.4 percent.

Price gains this week were limited by Saudi Arabia and Russia’s saying they would raise output to at least partly make up for expected disruptions from Iran, OPEC’s No. 3 producer, due to the U.S. sanctions that take effect on Nov. 4. Oil prices are up 15-20 since mid-August, at their highest levels since late 2014.