Oil prices rise 4% on job data

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose on Friday, driven by job data that tempered recession fears amid fading concerns about the banking issue.

The better-than-expected US job data helped ease fears of an impending recession, as the US economy added 253,000 jobs in April, compared to estimates of 180,000, while the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in several decades at 3.4%.

The international rig count decreased by 71 units month-on-month (MoM) in April to 1,808, data of energy services firm Baker Hughes showed.

Brent crude contract for July ended 3.9%, or $2.80 higher at $75.30 a barrel, with nearly a 6.3% drop this week.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June delivery closed 4.1% or $2.78 higher at $71.34 a barrel, recording weekly losses of nearly 7.1%.