LONDON, Nov 15 Reuters Oil prices fell on Friday, and were heading for a weekly loss, on worries about waning Chinese demand and expectations of fewer U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

Brent crude futures dropped 97 cents, or 1.34, to 71.59 a barrel by 1011 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 94 cents, or 1.37, at 67.76.

For the week, Brent is set to fall 3 while WTI is set to decline nearly 4.

China39;s oil refiners in October processed 4.6 less crude than a year earlier because of plant closures and reduced operating rates at smaller independent refiners, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.

Meanwhile, China39;s factory output growth slowed last month and demand woes in its property sector showed few signs of abating, adding to investors39; concerns over the economic health of the world39;s largest crude importer.

China served a timely reminder about the true state of its oil sector. The countrys refinery throughput declined for the seventh successive month in October, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.

Speaking on Thursday, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said the U.S. central bank did not need to rush to lower interest rates.

A slow down in expected interest rate cuts could curtail economic growth which would limit fuel demand.

Oil prices also fell this week as major forecasters indicated slowing global demand growth.

The International Energy Agency forecast global oil supply would exceed demand by more…