Oil Snaps Three-Week Declining Streak with Modest Gains

Oil prices continued to rise on Friday for the fourth consecutive session, scoring their first weekly rise in four weeks, with investors shrugging off concerns about output policy and a slower than expected recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

The global benchmark Brent crude futures for September delivery added 31 cents or 0.42% today to settle at $74.10 a barrel, extending their weekly increase to 51 cents or 0.69%.

Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), U.S. benchmark, futures leveled up by 16 cents or 0.22%, closing at $72.07 per barrel.

For the week, the Nymex futures has registered a rise of 0.71%.

Earlier today, data by Baker Hughes showed that the number of crude oil and natural gas rigs in the United States increased for the fourth consecutive week this week.

The total rig count rose by seven to 491 in the week ending July 23, reaching its highest level since April 2020, as the increase came entirely from oil rigs that reached 387, while natural gas rigs remained unchanged at 104.

Expectations of a relatively tight supply despite the forecasted demand recovery are providing support for oil levels.

“Oil prices could rise to $100 a barrel over the coming months if OPEC+ is too slow to increase supply again, given the relatively inflexible response to non-OPEC+ supply,” Barclays Bank said in a note on Thursday.