Investing.com – Crude futures settled higher on Friday, after Russia affirmed its commitment to the supply-cut agreement but gains were capped as investors mulled over data, which showed a surge in U.S. drilling activity.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery added 36 cents to settle at $49.33 a barrel, while on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained 7 cents to trade at 51.89 a barrel.
Crude futures mounted a recovery on Friday, after sliding to a one-month low in the previous session, as Russia said its close to meeting its pledged 300,000 barrels-a-day cut amid concerns over rising U.S. production.
Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported its weekly U.S. rig count rose by 9 to 697, the highest rig count since April 2015.
Despite the record compliance with the supply-cut agreement in March, inventories in industrial countries remained above the five-year average, which is a key metric OPEC monitors.
Earlier this week, Saudi oil chief Khalid al-Falih acknowledged that the first quarter of cuts failed to stem the glut in supply to below the five-year average but hinted at the possibility of extending the supply-cut agreement beyond June.
“Consensus is building [concerning a possible deal extension], but it is not done yet,” Khalid al-Falih said last week.
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.
OPEC will decide at talks on May 25 whether to extend production cuts beyond June.