2019.05.2415:30:00UTC+00Oil Futures Settle Modestly Higher

Crude oil futures moved higher on Friday, rebounding from recent losses, after trade worries faded a bit on U.S. President Donald Trump's comment that there is a good possibility of including Huawei in a trade deal to end a trade dispute with Beijing.

Short-covering and bargain hunting following a 5.7% plunge in the previous session - the biggest single-session loss this year - pushed oil prices higher.

However, the uptick was just marginal as demand growth concerns persisted amid the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China, disappointing data on the pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing activity, reports showing drop in durable goods orders and new home sales.

West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June ended up $0.72, or 1.2%, at $58.63 a barrel.

On Thursday, WTI crude oil futures for June ended down $3.51, or 5.7%, at $57.91 a barrel.

WTI crude oil futures shed as much as 6.8% in the week, the biggest weekly loss so far this year.

In U.S. economic news today, durable goods orders tumbled by 2.1% in April after jumping by a downwardly revised 1.7% in March.

Economists had expected orders to slump by 2% compared to the 2.6% spike that had been reported for the previous month.

Excluding a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders were unchanged in April following a revised 0.5% drop in March. Economists had expected a 0.2% uptick.

On the trade front, Trump said on Thursday that Washington's complaints against Huawei Technologies might be resolved within the framework of a U.S.-China trade deal.

At the same time, he called the Chinese telecommunications giant "very dangerous."

"You look at what they've done from a security standpoint, a military standpoint. Very dangerous," Trump told reporters at the White House.

A report released by Baker Hughes today showed oil rig counts fell for a third straight week as weaker oil prices prompted drillers to cut spending.

In the week to May 24, drillers cut five oil rigs, bringing the total count down to 797, the lowest since March 2018, the report said. That compares with 859 rigs operating during the same week a year ago.