Investing.com - Oil futures ended lower on Friday, moving further away from the strongest level since January as concerns over rising production and swelling stockpiles in the U.S. offset optimism that OPEC and its allies have been following through on their commitment to cut production.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude April contract slumped 46 cents, or around 0.9%, to end at $53.99 a barrel by close of trade Friday. The U.S. benchmark reached $55.03 on Tuesday, a level not seen since January 3.
Despite Friday's losses, New York-traded oil futures tacked on 13 cents, or almost 0.3%, on the week.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for April delivery shed 59 cents, or about 1.1%, to settle at $55.99 a barrel by close of trade.
For the week, London-traded Brent futures scored a loss of 71 cents, or around 1.3%, the third straight weekly decline.
Concerns that the ongoing rebound in U.S. shale production could derail efforts by other major producers to rebalance global oil supply and demand pressured crude prices.
Data from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes on Friday revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by five last week, the sixth weekly increase in a row. That brought the total count to 602, the most since November 2015.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday that crude supplies rose by 564,000 barrels last week to yet another all-time high, feeding concerns about a global glut.
Oil prices have been trading in a narrow $5 range around the mid-$50s over the past two months as sentiment in oil markets has been torn between hopes that oversupply may be curbed by output cuts announced by major global producers and expectations of a rebound in U.S. shale production.
OPEC and non-OPEC countries have made a strong start to lowering their oil output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day to 32.5 million by the end of June, with compliance currently at around 90%.
OPEC could extend its oil supply-reduction pact with non-members or even apply deeper cuts from July if global crude inventories fail to drop to a targeted level, OPEC sources said earlier this month.
Elsewhere on Nymex, gasoline futures for March shed 1.3 cents, or about 0.9% to $1.514 on Friday. It ended down about 0.2% for the week.
March heating oil slipped 1.6 cents, or 1%, to finish at $1.640 a gallon. For the week, the fuel gained almost 0.3%.
Natural gas futures for April delivery rose 3.8 cents, or almost 1.4%, to $2.834 per million British thermal units. It posted a weekly loss of around 7%.
In the week ahead, market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Tuesday and Wednesday to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Meanwhile, traders will also continue to pay close attention to comments from global oil producers for further evidence that they are complying with their agreement to reduce output this year.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of these and other significant events likely to affect the markets.
Tuesday, February 28
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is to publish its weekly report on U.S. oil supplies.
Wednesday, March 1
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is to release weekly data on oil and gasoline stockpiles.
Thursday, March 2
The U.S. government is to produce a weekly report on natural gas supplies in storage.
Friday, March 3
Baker Hughes will release weekly data on the U.S. oil rig count.