Crude oil futures rose on Friday and climbed slightly for the week, boosted by signs of tighter supply after the OPEC production curb appears to be successful, according to Bloomberg MarketWatch.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $1.05, or 2%, to settle at $52.42 a barrel. The contract, which expired at the day’s settlement, finished last Friday at $52.37 a barrel so it ended around 0.1% higher for the week. March WTI crude settled at $53.22 a barrel, up $1.10, or 2.1%, ending just above last Friday’s finish of $53.15 a barrel.
On the London ICE Futures Exchange, March Brent crude, the global benchmark, advanced by $1.33, or 2.5%, to end trading at $55.49 a barrel—settling less than 0.1% higher for the week.
President Trump is also expected to ease restrictions on oil drilling, which could contribute to higher domestic production.
Meanwhile, major producers around the world have been cutting output as part of the OPEC agreement to curb production.
In a monthly report issued this week, the International Energy Agency said OPEC production has slowed, declining by 320,000 barrels a day to 33.09 million barrels in December. The OPEC agreement calls for a member output ceiling of 32.5 million barrels.
Meanwhile, February natural gas fell 16.4 cents, or 4.9%, to settle at $3.204 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, natural gas futures reflect a loss of about 6.3%.