U.S. oil futures finished below $50 a barrel on Friday as traders worried about an increase in production due to higher settlements, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
July West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.49, or 3%, to end trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $49.07 a barrel. For the week, WTI futures rose almost 0.9% after hitting $51 a barrel on Wednesday.
On London’s ICE Futures Exchange, August Brent crude slid $1.41, or 2.7%, to settle at $50.54 a barrel. For the week, Brent crude was up roughly 1.8%.
Oil prices continued to fall on Friday after Baker Hughes’ rig count report revealed an additional three active domestic drilling rigs for the week, bringing the total to 328.
“Next week, oil traders will start focusing on fundamentals again, as the economy is still lackluster around the world,” said Nico Pantelis, head of research at Secular Investor. “We expect a retracement of prices towards the $43 level.”
Meanwhile, July natural gas fell 6.1 cents, or 2.3%, to $2.556 per million British thermal units. But prices were up about 6.6% for the week as supplies tighten and demand climbs.