Oil futures fell on Friday, with U.S. prices easing back from their highest level since late July. The day’s selloff is “mostly attributable to profit taking following the run up earlier in the week,” said Marshall Steeves, energy markets analyst at IHS Markit. The crude-oil market surged after the weekly U.S. inventory report Wednesday showed another crude stock draw, as less than 30% of U.S. offshore production in the Gulf of Mexico remains sidelined due to the impacts of Tropical Storm Nicholas and Hurricane Ida, he said. “However, the outlook for global demand growth is diminishing due to the spread of the delta variant.” West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery CLV21, -0.01% fell 64 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $71.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices settled at $72.61 on Thursday, unchanged from Wednesday when they ended at the highest since July 30. For the week, prices still gained 3.2%, FactSet data show.