Crude oil futures ended lower on Friday with traders largely making cautious moves as they weighed the outlook for energy demand amid lingering worries about spikes in the delta variant of the coronavirus in several countries. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that energy demand is set to rise at a slower pace over the rest of 2021 because of the surge in infections from the Delta variant of the coronavirus. A monthly report from OPEC suggested that the cartel was sticking to its recent forecast for a rebound in oil demand globally this year and further growth in 2022, despite surging COVID-19 infections worldwide. According to a report released by Baker Hughes this afternoon, the combined oil and gas rig count in the U.S. rose for a second week in a row, going up by nine to 500 in the week to August 13, the highest level since April 2020.
Crude oil futures for September fell $0.65 or 0.9 percent to settle $68.44 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude dropped $1.22 or 1.7 percent to settle at $70.09 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.