Crude oil futures ended lower on Friday amid concerns the rain and wind impacts of Hurricane Beryl could disrupt Mexico's offshore oil production, and also hurt infrastructure and tighten supply. Recent data by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed. Street had expected crude oil inventories to edge down by 0.2 million barrels. At 448.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. The EIA data also said gasoline inventories decreased by 2.2 million barrels last week and are 1% below the five-year average for this time of year. Meanwhile, a report from Baker Hughes said the oil and gas rig count in the U.S. rose by four to 585 this week. While oil rigs were unchanged at 479 this week, gas rigs rose by four.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil futures for August delivery declined $0.72 or 0.86% to $83.16 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery fell $0.89 or about 1.02% to $86.54 per barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.