Investing.com -- Crude futures were mixed on Friday amid a stronger dollar, as the U.S. rig count continued its steady, albeit slowed decline.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude for August delivery fell 0.03 or 0.04% to 59.67 a barrel, paring moderate gains late in the session. Texas Long Sweet futures traded between 58.78 and 59.95 on Friday, gaining more than $1 a barrel in U.S. afternoon trading. In spite of volatile moves of more than 1% on the first three trading days of the week, WTI crude ended the week relatively flat after losing mere pennies.
On the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), brent crude for August delivery rose 0.13 or 0.21% to 63.33 a barrel. Brent crude wavered between 62.51 and 63.62 on Friday. After posting gains in three of the five sessions on the week, brent futures closed the week roughly 1.2% higher.
Oil services firm Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) said on Friday in its weekly rig count that U.S. oil rigs last week fell by three to 628, marking its 29th consecutive weekly decline. Oil rigs throughout the U.S. remain at its lowest level since August, 2010. Last fall, the count peaked around a level of 1,600. In total, Baker Hughes said the number of oil and gas rigs in the U.S. rose by two to 859. Industry observers have placed less emphasis on U.S. rig counts in comparison with recent years, as U.S. shale producers continue to remove inefficient rigs while maintaining output. A controversial decision by Opec in November to keep its supply ceiling above 30 million barrels per day triggered an arms race of sorts with the U.S. for global market share.
U.S. crude stockpiles fell by nearly five million barrels last week, representing the eighth straight periods of weekly draws as the summer driving season reaches full swing. Inventories still remain at their highest level at this time of year in at least 80 years. Production, meanwhile, moved back above 9.6 million barrels per day, a bullish sign for WTI. In recent weeks U.S. output had slowed amid a glut of oversupply in global markets.
Elsewhere, an unnamed Western diplomat told Reuters that major hurdles still needed to be cleared in Iranian Nuclear talks ahead of Tuesday's deadline for a final agreement. If a deal is reached, Iran is looking for a bevy of economic sanctions to be removed immediately while Western powers expect the sanctions to be removed gradually. U.S. president Barack Obama has until July 9 to present the deal to Congress for review.
An easing of sanctions is viewed as bearish for crude, as a deal could enable Iran to release millions of barrels of crude reserves into a global market already saturated by excessive supply.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.28% to 95.63.