Investing.com - Crude oil prices were mostly steady to higher in Asia on Friday with investors focused on U.S. rig count data to cap the week.
U.S. crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up 0.02% to $50.64 a barrel.
Last week, oilfield services provider Baker Hughes said the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. last week rose by 4 to 432, marking the 15th increase in 16 weeks.
Overnight, oil prices fell on Thursday as traders took profits following a rally in the previous session fueled by an unexpectedly large U.S. oil inventory drawdown last week and hopes for an output cut by major producers.
Global benchmark Brent futures on the Intercontinental Exchange ended at $51.41 a barrel.
Oil prices rallied on Wednesday, with U.S. crude settling at a 15-month high after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said oil inventories fell by 5.2 million barrels in the week ended October 14.
That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile build of 2.7 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 468.7 million barrels as of last week, the EIA said. The report came after industry group the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that U.S. crude oil stocks fell by a surprise 3.8 million barrels last week.
The reduction in oil inventories added to optimism over a planned output cut by major producers.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced late last month that it has a preliminary plan to limit production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day.
OPEC is expected to complete details of the proposed production cut at its next official meeting on November 30.
But many market analysts remain doubtful of the deal, amid uncertainty over how the agreement would be coordinated.