Investing.com – Crude futures settled higher on Friday, but posted a weekly loss as investor sentiment soured on oil prices this week, following data showing Opec output increased in July as its members failed to adhere to output limits set out in the global deal to curb production.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for September delivery rose 23 cents to settle at $48.82 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent added $0.10 to trade at $52 a barrel.
The International Energy Agency said OPEC's compliance with the cuts in July had fallen to 75%, the lowest since the cuts began in January. That despite the group’s pledge to increase compliance levels.
In May, Opec producers agreed to extend production cuts for a period of nine months until March, but stuck to production cuts of 1.2 million bpd agreed in November last year.
The bearish compliance data comes a day after Opec released its monthly report, showing production from the group rose further in July, as exempt producers – Nigeria and Libya – and top exporter Saudi Arabia increased output.
Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih on Friday attempted, however, to quell investor fears that the excess supplies would continue to weigh on prices, saying the kingdom did not rule out the possibility of additional production cuts.
Meanwhile, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported Friday, its weekly count of oil rigs operating in the United States last week ticked up by three rigs to a total of 768.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.