Crude oil futures ended higher on Friday on hopes energy demand will increase thanks the vaccination drive picking up momentum, and on output cuts by the oil cartel. With the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies agreeing to cut crude output this month and the next, and Saudi Arabia deciding to unilaterally cut production by 1 million barrels per day, oversupply concerns have faded a bit. Oil prices continued to be supported by recent data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that showed US crude inventories dropped by 994,000 barrels last week to 475.7 million barrels, their lowest since March.
Crude oil futures for March rose $0.62 or 1.1 percent to settle at $56.85 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. April Brent crude gained 0.85 to settle at $59.34 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.