Investing.com - Crude oil futures rallied over 1% on Friday, recovering from the previous session's sharp drop as supply data continued to support although demand concerns still weighed on investor confidence.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in February traded up $0.59 or 1.07% to $54.94 a barrel during European early afternoon trade.
Prices plummeted $2.43 or 4.28% on Thursday to settle at $54.36.
Futures were likely to find support at $54.28, Thursday's low and a five-year trough and resistance at $59.04, Thursday's high.
Oil prices found support after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 0.847 million barrels in the week ending December 12.
The draw fell short of expectations for a decline of 2.36 million barrels, but oil prices shot up as investors viewed an earlier American Petroleum Institute report revealing an unexpected 1.9 million barrel increase in U.S. oil stockpiles as an anomaly.
The commodity's gains were capped however amid concerns of a global supply glut, with investors searching for new support levels.
Despite an improving U.S. economy, headwinds continue to cool European and Asian economies and hamper demand for fuel and energy, while unrest in the Middle East and Ukraine has failed to disrupt supply as once feared.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for January delivery climbed $0.54, or 1.02%, to hit $59.80 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stranding at $4.86.