US crude oil prices ended lower on Friday after US shares rose on the day and the US oil rig count nudged higher for the first time since December. Gold and silver futures also dipped on Friday.
The combination saw some traders start fretting about the sustainability of the recent rally in oil prices, while other ignored the news preferring to believe in the change in sentiment about an output freeze proposal from some OPEC members. Traders also said the rise in the US rig count from services company Baker Hughes of just one was hardly significant after 12 weeks of falling numbers that saw the total hit an all-time low the week before.
Friday’s total is merely the second lowest figure on record, and not a negative for those who believe oil prices have bottomed out.
The Baker Hughes showed that the oil-rig count rose by one to 387 last week, but the total number of rigs in use fell to 476 as five gas drilling rigs were taken out of service.
But according to the bears the extra rig in use is a sign the price rebound has brought more rigs back on line – although that will only be confirmed from the weekly reports over the next month or so.
Brent crude finished down 34 cents, or 0.8%, at $US41.20 a barrel in London, having risen $US1 earlier to a 2016 high of $US42.54.
And in New York, US crude fell 76 cents, or 1.9%, to end on $US39.44 after rising $US1 to a year high of $US41.20. But despite the falls, Brent was up for a fourth straight week and US crude for a fifth week in a row. Both rose about 2% last week.
Meanwhile, Comex gold futures settled lower on Friday night, giving back a portion of the hefty climb on Thursday and triggering a loss for the week
April gold fell $US10.70, or 0.9%, to settle at $US1,254.30 an ounce, pulling back after jumping nearly 3% on Thursday. Comex prices saw an 0.4% weekly loss, the fourth losing week in the last five.
Comex May silver ended at $US15.811 an ounce, down 22.2 cents, or 1.4%, following a more than 5% jump on Thursday. For the week, silver rose 1.3%.
And Comex May copper ended a cent lower at $US2.283 a pound, a weekly gain of just on 2%.
