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Brent crude futures were up 31 cents, or 0.4%, at $76.83 a
barrel at 0819 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
gained 31 cents, or 0.4%, to $72.11 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were set to gain about 2% on the week.
Brent is still trading around $10 a barrel below April peaks,
and has remained between around $71 and $79 a barrel since early
May in the face of interest rate hikes and weak Chinese economic
data.
"The crude demand outlook is starting to look better as we enter
peak summer travel in the U.S., and as the Saudis were able to
raise prices to Europe and Asia," said Edward Moya, an analyst
at OANDA.
U.S. crude stocks fell more than expected on strong refining
demand, while gasoline inventories posted a large draw after an
increase in driving last week, the Energy Information
Administration said on Thursday. [EIA/S]
However, oil price gains were capped by strengthening
expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to raise
interest rates at its July 25-26 meeting, which could weigh on
growth and thus oil demand.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment
benefits increased moderately last week, while private payrolls
surged in June, data showed on Thursday.
More U.S. employment data is due at 1230 GMT.
Top oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia this week have also
announced fresh output cuts for August. The total cuts by OPEC
and its allies now stand at around five million barrels per day
(bpd), equating to 5% of global oil output.
OPEC will likely maintain an upbeat view on oil demand growth
for next year, sources close to OPEC said.
Investors will look for cues on rate paths from U.S. and Chinese
inflation data next week.
(Additional reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan in Singapore;
editing by Jason Neely)
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