Investing.com - U.S. oil futures rose on Friday, but remained near two-month lows as concerns over a global supply glut continued to weigh.
U.S. crude futures for September delivery added 0.25% to $44.86 a barrel, close to Wednesday’s two-month low of 43.69.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the September Brent contract climbed 0.52% to $46.44 a barrel, near a two-month trough of 45.84 hit overnight.
Crude prices weakened after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that crude oil inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels last week. But the EIA added that at 519.5 million barrels, inventories are at historically high levels for this time of year.
The report also showed that gasoline inventories increased by 0.9 million barrels, disappointing expectations for a decline of 0.8 million barrels. Gasoline stocks are also well above the upper limit of the average range, according to the EIA.
According to market experts, elevated stocks of fuel products amid slowing demand growth is expected to keep prices under pressure in the near-term.
Elsewhere, exports from southern Iraq in the first 21 days of July were to said to have hit an average of 3.28 million barrels per day, up from 3.18 million bpd in June.