Investing.com - Crude oil futures were trading near two-week highs on Friday, as Thursday's upbeat U.S. data fuelled further optimism over the strength of the country's economy and investors awaited fresh U.S. reports later in the day.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in October traded at $94.96 a barrel during European afternoon trade, up 0.43%.
Prices gained 0.71% on Thursday to settle at $94.55.
Futures were likely to find support at $93.45 a barrel, Thursday's low and resistance at $96.68, the high from August 14.
Oil prices strengthened after preliminary data on Thursday showed that U.S. gross domestic product expanded by 4.2% in the second quarter, beating expectations for growth of 3.9%, after an expansion of 4.0% in the three months to April.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending August 22 declined by 1,000 to 298,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 299,000.
The strong data confirmed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's comments at Jackson Hole last week saying that the U.S. economy is recovering and the labor market is improving.
Investors were also focusing on developments in Ukraine after the nation's President Petro Poroshenko said Russian troops have "de facto" entered his country.
The United Nations Security Council was to hold an emergency meeting later Friday, while the U.S. said the U.S. said thay it has a "range of options" to help Ukraine.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil for October rose 0.37% to trade at $102.84 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at $7.88 a barrel.