INV: Oil futures regain some ground but remain under $50
Investing.com - Crude oil futures rose on Friday, easing off the previous session's seven-month low but still remained under the $50 mark as concerns over a global supply glut continued to weigh heavily on the commodity.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for September delivery hit $50.88 during European early afternoon hours, down 3 cents, or 0.07%. A day earlier, Nymex oil prices lost 74 cents, or 1.50%, to end at $48.45.
Oil weakened further after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that crude oil inventories unexpectedly rose by 2.5 million barrels last week to 463.9 million. Market analysts had expected a crude-stock fall of 2.3 million.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, increased by 813,000 barrels last week, above forecasts for an increase of 300,000.
New York-traded oil futures have been under heavy pressure in recent weeks as worries over high domestic U.S. oil production weighed.
According to industry research group Baker Hughes (NYSE:NYSE:BHI), the number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. declined by seven last week to 638, snapping two weeks of gains.
However, U.S. oil production has held around 9.6 million barrels a day, the highest level since the early 1970s.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for September delivery slid by 22 cents, or 0.38%, to trade at $55.05 a barrel. On Thursday, London-traded Brent futures dropped by 86 cents, or 1.53%, to settle at $55.27.
The spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $4.17 a barrel.
