23.07.202119:14:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Higher Again

Crude oil futures settled modestly higher on Friday, extending gains to a fourth straight session with traders betting on hopes demand for energy will see a significant increase in coming months.

After plunging around 7% on Monday amid rising concerns over the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus and worries about oversupply following OPEC+'s decision to hike oil output.

However, crude futures rebounded in the following sessions amid hopes demand growth will outpace new supply, driven by the continued fall in oil stocks and rising rates of vaccinations..

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for September ended up by $0.16 or about 0.2% at $72.07 a barrel. WTI Crude futures gained about 0.4% in the week.

Brent crude futures were up $0.22 or 0.31% at $74.01 a barrel a little while ago.

According to a report from Baker Hughes, the number of oil and gas rigs in the U.S. rose by 7 this week to 491, which is up 240 from the same time last year.

The U.S. oil rig count rose by 7 this week to 387, while the number of gas rigs stayed unchanged at 104.

Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration estimates oil production in the U.S. for the week ending July 16 remained the same at an average of 11.4 million barrels per day, still well below the 13.1 million barrels per day seen in February 2020.