News oil prices rose on Friday, heading for a more than 3% gain this week, amid growing signs of strong demand and tighter supplies in the coming months as soaring gas and coal prices fuel a shift to oil products. Brent crude futures, hitting their highest since October 2018, rose 84 cents, or 1%, to $84.84 a barrel by 0652 GMT. Front-month crude was also set to rise for a sixth straight week, up 3% this week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 74 cents, or 0.9%, to $82.05 a barrel, adding to an 87-cent jump on Thursday. The contract was set to rise 3.4% this week, rising for an eighth straight week. Analysts pointed to a sharp decline in OECD oil stockpiles to their lowest since 2015. Demand has picked up with the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a boost coming from industries switching from expensive gas and coal to fuel oil and diesel. "The fact that Asian markets are content to chase higher weekly highs without looking for a price break below averages is a strong signal that energy demand remains strong," OANDA senior analyst Jeffrey Halley said in a note. The International Energy Agency said Thursday that the energy crunch is expected to increase oil demand by 500,000 barrels per day, creating a supply gap of about 700,000 barrels per day by the end of the year until the Organization of the Petroleum Countries and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, add more supply as planned in January. "This energy crunch, particularly in coal and gas, has really pushed energy higher. Oil has benefited as a result," said Commonwealth Bank commodities analyst Vivek Dhar. "You're looking at a narrow window where things could tighten up considerably. But it's very weather dependent," Dhar said. RBC Capital Markets analysts said the global oil market is shaping up to be a strong bull cycle, led by tightening supply and strengthening demand at the same time. "We maintain the view we have held all year: That the oil market remains in the early days of a multi-year, structurally strong cycle," RBC analyst Michael Tran said in a note. Investors shrugged off a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. crude stocks last week as refinery output fell. Crude inventories rose 6.1 million barrels in the week to Oct. 8 to 427 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 702,000-barrel increase, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday.