Investing.com - Crude oil prices drifted lower in light trade on Friday in Asia with many markets shut globally to mark Good Friday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for May delivery was last quoted at $39.59 a barrel. Data on U.S. rig counts from Baker Hughes normally released on Friday is unlikely with the U.S. on a public holiday.
Overnight, crude futures were relatively flat on Thursday, one session after plunging more than 4%, as investors continued to digest a massive inventory build last week in domestic energy markets in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the spread between the international and domestic benchmark of crude stood at $1.02, above Wednesday's level of 0.74 at the close of trading.
Investors continued to react to a sizable U.S. supply build from last week when crude stockpiles nationwide surged by 9.4 million barrels from the previous week, the second-highest weekly inventory build on the year. At 532.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at historically high levels for this time of year.
Elsewhere, officials from the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) admitted on Thursday that a highly anticipated output freeze between four major producers could essentially be "meaningless," amid views that Saudi Arabia is the only member of the group which may be able to boost production by a considerable amount. In mid-February, Saudi Arabia, Russia and two other OPEC producers agreed to freeze output at January levels in an effort to stabilize crashing oil prices. The nations could finalize a deal next month at a meeting in Doha.
"Amongst the group of countries we're aware of, only Saudi Arabia has any ability to increase its production," the IEA's head of its oil industry and markets division said on Thursday. "A freeze on production rather meaningless. It's more some kind of gesture which perhaps is aimed...to build confidence that there will be stability in oil prices."
Despite the recent rally, oil prices are still down by more than 60% from their peak in June, 2014 at $115 a barrel.