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Brent crude futures climbed $1.53, or 1.54%, to $100.87 a barrel
by 1051 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
rose $1.20 cents, or 1.3%, to $93.72.
Both contracts slumped by about $2 on Thursday but are on track
for a weekly gain of around 4% for Brent and 3% for WTI.
Better than expected figures concerning the U.S. economy helped
to dispel recession fears.
The U.S. economy contracted at a more moderate pace than
initially thought in the second quarter as consumer spending
blunted some of the drag from a sharp slowdown in inventory
accumulation.
Norway's biggest lender, DNB, said demand concerns look to have
been overstated despite a weakening macroeconomic outlook.
"We expect the post-pandemic normalisation of mobility in
emerging markets in Asia and gas-to-oil switching effects to
partly offset the weaker economic growth. In addition, mobility
data appears to be holding up well," it said.
Additional price support came from OPEC's de facto leader Saudi
Arabia on Monday flagging the possibility of production cuts to
balance the oil market and offset the return of Iranian barrels
to oil markets should Tehran clinch a nuclear deal with the
West.
Other members of the broader OPEC+ producer group have voiced
support for the Saudi statement throughout the week. The United
Arab Emirates on friday became the latest OPEC+ member to state
it is aligned with Saudi Arabia's thinkng on crude markets, a
source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
"The impression remains that Saudi Arabia is not willing to
tolerate any price slide below $90. Speculators could view this
as an invitation to bet on further price rises without the need
to fear any more pronounced price declines," Commerzbank said in
a note.
The market awaits fresh signals on the outlook for interest rate
increases in a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
later on Friday.
"Fed policymakers have been making hawkish overtures of late,
and this stance will likely be reiterated by Powell's message,"
said PVM analyst Stephen Brennock.
(Reporting by Rowena EdwardsAdditional reporting by Sonali Paul
in Melbourne and Emily Chow in Kuala LumpurEditing by Jason
Neely and David Goodman)
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