Crude oil futures close slightly higher on Friday

20 Aug 2022 Evaluate

Recovering from early weakness, crude oil futures closed slightly higher on Friday after Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said that the central bank officials have ‘a lot of time still’ before they need to decide how large an interest rate increase to approve at their policy meeting in September. Barkin added that the Fed is now balancing its rate hike path with uncertainty over any impact on the economy. A report from Baker Hughes said U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row. The report said the oil and gas rig count in the U.S. fell by one to 762 this week. Oil rigs were unchanged at 601, while gas rigs fell one to 159.

Benchmark crude oil futures for September delivery rose $0.27 or about 0.3 percent to settle at $90.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery added $0.13 or 0.1 percent to settle at $96.72 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange. 

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