Oil prices rise on Friday, record weekly losses

Oil prices rose on Friday, driven by positive US and eurozone economic data but recorded weekly losses.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for June delivery closed 0.70% or $0.50 lower at $77.87 a barrel, recording weekly losses of nearly 6%.

The US drilling rig count rose three units to 591 in the week ended April 21, General Electric Co.’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, discussed the OPEC+ deal to cap oil production in a phone call on April 21. The two leaders expressed satisfaction about the level of cooperation between Riyadh and Moscow to bring stability to the global oil market.

The US manufacturing PMI hit 52.5 points in April - its highest level in 11 months - compared with 52.3 in March.

Meanwhile, Germany's manufacturing PMI accelerated to its highest in 12 months, while France's manufacturing PMI rose to its highest since May 2022.