Crude oil futures ended higher on Friday supported by International Energy Agency's (IEA’s) forecast that global crude demand will grow to a record 101.9 million barrels per day this year. The IEA said in its monthly oil market report that oil demand will grow by 2 million barrels per day in 2023, driven mostly by stronger Chinese consumption after the lifting of COVID restrictions. The IEA expects supply to remain tight, and sees a drop of 400,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. Meanwhile, data from Baker Hughes showed the total number of total active drilling rigs in the United States fell by 3 this week, after falling 4 last week. The total rig count fell to 748 this week. Oil rigs dropped by 2 this week to 588, while gas rigs fell by 1 to 157.
Benchmark crude oil futures for May delivery gained 6 cents or 0.4 percent to settle at $82.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery added 22 cents or 0.3 percent to settle at $86.31 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.