Oil Futures Settle Higher On Strong Eurozone, U.K. Economic Data

Crude oil prices climbed higher on Friday, buoyed by fairly strong data on private sector activity in the U.K. and eurozone.

Concerns about the U.S. economic outlook and interest rate uncertainty limited the uptick in oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended higher by $0.50 or about 0.7% at $77.87 a barrel.

Brent crude futures were up $0.45 or 0.55% at $81.55 a barrel a little while ago.

WTI crude futures and Brent crude futures both shed more than 5.5% in the week.

The U.K. private sector expanded for the third successive month in April to the strongest level in a year, driven by a sharp upturn in the services economy, while manufacturing remained in the contraction zone, flash survey results from S&P Global showed.

The flash Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply composite output index climbed to 53.9 in April from 52.2 in March. The expected score was 52.5.

Eurozone private sector activity expanded at the fastest pace in nearly a year in April, driven by reviving demand in the service sector, and was accompanied by a sharp increase in employment amid a moderation in inflationary pressures and resilient business confidence, the results of the latest purchasing managers’ survey by S&P Global showed Friday.

The seasonally adjusted HCOB flash composite output index rose to 54.4 in April from 53.7 in the previous month. The score was expected to remain steady at 53.7.

The reading rose for the sixth month in a row and remained above the critical 50.0 threshold for the fourth successive month. This suggested the biggest growth in the private sector since May 2022.

According to a report released by Baker Hughes, the total number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. rose by 5 this week.

The total rig count rose to 753 this week, 58 rigs higher than the count this time last year.

While oil rigs increased by 3 this week, gas rigs rose by 2.

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