Oil prices edged higher on Friday after Russia said it would support a recommendation for OPEC and other producers to cut their output further amid falling demand for crude as China battles the coronavirus epidemic. Brent crude futures rose 10 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $55.03 a barrel by 0732 GMT, but were heading for a fifth weekly loss amid lingering fears over the impact of the virus. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $51.01 a barrel, also heading for a fifth consecutive week of losses. Prices came off earlier highs in the session after Chinas central bank governor said the worlds second-biggest economy may experience disruptions in the first quarter, while Japan announced a big jump in confirmed coronavirus cases among thousands of passengers confined to a cruise liner off its coast. A panel advising the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, known as the OPEC+ group, suggested provisionally cutting output by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), three sources told Reuters on Thursday. "We support this idea," said Sergei Lavrov, Russias Foreign Minister, when asked about the proposal at a news conference in Mexico City later in the day. The OPEC+ group, which pumps more than 40 percent of the worlds oil, has been withholding supply and agreed to deepen the cuts by 500,000 bpd from the start of this year, to 1.7 million bpd, nearly 2 percent of global demand. Oil prices have fallen by more than a fifth since the outbreak of the virus in the city of Wuhan in China.