Investing.com – Crude futures settled higher on Friday, as data this week pointed to an uptick in global demand offsetting investor concerns about the glut in supply.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for July delivery rose by 46 cents to settle at $46.54 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent added 56 cents to trade at $48.98 a barrel.
Oil prices capped a week of steady gains on Friday, as investors continued cheer data this week suggesting that demand for oil will pick up during the second half of 2017.
On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration released its weekly inventories report showing U.S. crude stockpiles fell by a bigger-than-expected 7.6m barrels for week ended July 7.
Sentiment on oil was further boosted on Thursday, when the International Energy Agency revised up its oil demand forecast from the previous month, noting that stronger consumption in the second half of year could offset the glut in supply.
The IEA’s report, however, also showed an increase in Saudi Arabian oil output, despite the current accord in place to curb production.
Saudi Arabia has increased its flows, the IEA said, as well as Libya and Nigeria who are not part of the production freeze.
Meanwhile, investors received the latest U.S. rig count data from Baker Hughes on Friday, showing an uptick in number of active U.S. oil rigs to 765, up by 2 from the previous week.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
At Friday’s settlement price, crude futures gained 5.2% this week.