• Oil prices are set for a second consecutive week of gains despite facing a bit of profit-taking on Friday. 
• Traders see a rosy outlook for US demand in the short term while inventories fell more than expected last week. 
• The US Dollar Index trades firmly above 105.50, with help from the Japanese Yen and Euro.

Oil prices retreat slightly on Friday but look set to close in the green for the second week in a row,  adding over 7% of gains in two weeks. The drawdown in US stockpiles, together with the Southern belt in the US getting ready for the first tropical storms to hit, could mean some short-term supply hiccups. 

Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the performance of the US Dollar against six major currencies, is comfortably up in the higher 105.00 area, nearing 106.00. The move was initiated overnight when Nvidia (NVDA) shredded $91 billion in market value in just one trading session, triggering a massive move into the safe-haven Greenback. On Friday, European Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) numbers signaled the Eurozone economy is losing momentum, ahead of the US PMIs later this Friday.