Investing.com - Crude extended gains in Asia on Friday as President Donald Trump unleashed comments on North Korea that set the stage to risk-on for financial assets and rig count data loomed to set the near-term tone and investors focused on supply figures next month from OPEC and the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery jumped 0.90% to $49.41 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent was last quoted at $52.03 a barrel.
Overnight, crude futures settled lower on Thursday, pressured by an increase in global production after two of Libya’s key oilfields resumed output.
Libya’s Sharara and El Feel oilfields, which combined produced 390,000 barrels per day, have restarted after protests that had blocked pipelines came to an end, a Libyan oil source said Thursday.
The restart of key Libyan oil fields came a day after the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report, which showed a larger than expected drawdown in U.S. crude inventories.
For the week ended April 19, The EIA said that crude oil inventories fell by 3.641 million, which confounded expectations of a draw of only 1.661 million barrels.
The larger drawdown in U.S. crude inventories was offset, however, by a ramp-up in gasoline inventories to a three-month high amid a slowdown in gasoline demand.
Crude futures remained on track for a second-straight week of losses, after posting a 6% loss the previous week. The slump in oil prices came amid renewed hopes that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would agree to extend the supply-cut agreement.
OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said Thursday, the oil cartel is working to get a consensus before oil ministers meet next month in Vienna. In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). The deal to cut supply started in January this year for a period of six months until June.