Oil was higher today and traded up over 3% for the week as positive economic data and signals from the Fed indicating September rate cuts helped push prices up. Fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East also raised supply risks. A trio of Federal Reserve policymakers indicated on Thursday that they were more confident that inflation is cooling enough to cut rates. A bigger-than-expected fall in U.S. jobless claims data also helped to underpin the recovery. “Crude is in a recovery mode … as geopolitical tensions still seem to be a positive factor, and on-again off-again recession fears have calmed a bit, at least for now,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial. The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting that fears the labor market is unraveling were overblown and that the gradual softening in the labor market remains intact. Also offering support was China’s consumer price index, which rose last month at a slightly faster than expected rate, statistics bureau data showed. WTI traded up $0.65 or 0.9% to close at $76.84 Brent traded up $0.50 or 0.6% to close at $79.66.