Oil prices rally on supportive comments
Oil prices settled higher on Friday as Investor sentiment was boosted by supportive comments from OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) members about the cartel's output cuts.
The United Arab Emirates energy minister said on late Thursday that oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia aimed to draft an agreement on a long-term alliance by the year end, according to CNBC.
Some analysts also attributed oil's increases to a broad-based rebound in global stock markets.
The rising U.S. crude output, however, continued to weigh on the market. The number of rigs operating in U.S.
oil fields added by seven to a total of 798 rigs for the fourth consecutive weekly increase, oilfield service firm Baker Hughes said in its weekly report on Friday.
The West Texas Intermediate for March delivery increased 0.34 U.S. dollar to settle at 61.68 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery added 0.51 dollar to close at 64.84 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
