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Brent crude was up 40 cents at $76.66 a barrel at 0959 GMT,
while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 54 cents to $72.37 a
barrel.
Benchmarks settled more than $2 per barrel lower on Thursday,
after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak played down
the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts at its meeting in
Vienna on June 4.
Both prices were still poised to post a second week of gains of
slightly less than 1%. A deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling,
which appears in sight, would likely boost oil prices.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that energy
prices were approaching "economically justified" levels, also
indicating there could be no immediate change to the group's
production policy.
Their remarks contrasted with comments this week from Saudi
Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the
de-facto leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC), warning short sellers to "watch out".
Some investors interpreted that as a signal OPEC+ could consider
further output cuts.
Worries of weaker-than-expected demand growth globally also
weighed on investor outlook ahead of an expected rise in the
second half of the year, especially from China.
Meanwhile, bets on falling oil prices are on the rise.
The dollar has strengthened this month against a basket of major
peers, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil more
expensive for those holding other currencies.
(Additional reporting by Arathy Somasekhar and Trixie Yap;
editing by Jason Neely)
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