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© Reuters. Oil tallies a weekly drop of more than 6%
Investing.com - Oil futures settled higher on Friday, but still registered a hefty loss for the week as signs of rising U.S. shale production continued to feed concerns about a global supply glut.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude June contract tacked on 70 cents, or around 1.5%, to end at $46.22 a barrel by close of trade Friday. It plunged almost 5% on Thursday after hitting its lowest since November 14 at $43.76.
The U.S. benchmark lost $3.11, or almost 6.3%, on the week, the third straight weekly decline, marking the longest losing streak since November.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for July delivery ticked up 72 cents to settle at $49.10 a barrel by close of trade. The global benchmark sank to $46.64 a day earlier, a level not seen since November 15.
For the week, London-traded Brent futures recorded a loss of $2.95, or nearly 5.7%.
Crude has been under pressure in recent weeks amid fears that an ongoing rebound in U.S. shale production is derailing efforts by other major producers to rebalance global oil supply and demand.
U.S. drillers last week added rigs for the 16th week in a row, data from energy services company Baker Hughes showed on Friday, implying that further gains in domestic production are ahead.
The U.S. rig count rose by 6 to 703, extending an 11-month drilling recovery to the highest level since August 2015.
The relentless increase in U.S. output has overshadowed pledged output cuts by major producers.
In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day between January and June, but so far the move has had little impact on inventory levels.
Saudi Arabia's OPEC Governor Adeeb Al-Aama said on Friday there is an emerging consensus among OPEC and non-OPEC countries who took part in a global pact to cut crude output on the need to extend the agreement beyond June to help clear a supply glut.
A final decision on whether or not to extend the deal beyond June will be taken by the oil cartel on May 25.
Elsewhere on Nymex, gasoline futures for June gained 2.3 cents, or about 1.6% to end at $1.504 on Friday. It closed down around 2.9% for the week on concern over lackluster demand.
June heating oil tacked on 2.4 cents to finish at $1.436 a gallon. For the week, the fuel lost roughly 4.7%.
Natural gas futures for June delivery rose 8.0 cents to $3.266 per million British thermal units, up 2.5% for the session but 0.3% lower for the week.
In the week ahead, market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Tuesday and Wednesday to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Meanwhile, investors will keep an eye out for a monthly report from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties for further evidence that they are complying with their agreement to reduce output this year.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.
Tuesday, May 9
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is to publish its weekly report on U.S. oil supplies.
Wednesday, May 10
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is to release weekly data on oil and gasoline stockpiles.
Thursday, May 11
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties will publish its monthly assessment of oil markets.
The U.S. government is to produce a weekly report on natural gas supplies in storage.
Friday, May 12
Baker Hughes will release weekly data on the U.S. oil rig count.
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