Oil eases on weak US fuel demand, profit taking

Oil prices fell on Friday as investors weighed weak U.S. fuel demand and took some money off the table at quarter-end, while key inflation data for May boosted the chances the Federal Reserve will start to cut interest rates this year.

Brent crude futures for August settlement , which expired on Friday, settled up 2 cents at $86.41 a barrel. The more liquid September contract fell 0.3% to $85 a barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled 20 cents lower, or 0.24%, to $81.54.

For the week, Brent rose 0.02% while WTI futures posted a 0.2% loss. Both benchmarks gained around 6% for the month.

While U.S. oil production and demand rose to a four-month high in April, demand for gasoline fell to 8.83 million barrels per day, its lowest since February, according to the Energy Information Administration's Petroleum Supply Monthly report published on Friday.