Crude traders and investors in Asia also had their first chance to assess a 13th consecutive increase in the rig count by drillers of USA shale oil. They settled down 53 cents at $52.65 a barrel. Retail sales in the USA fell for a second straight month in March and consumer prices dropped for the first time in just over a year, official data showed on Friday.
Crude fell in the previous two sessions, but it received a boost from comments on April 19 by the secretary-general of OPEC that the group was committed to cutting inventories to the five-year average.
OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signalled that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russian Federation, would likely extend their oil output cut beyond June. In the past nine weeks, the growth has reached 30,000 barrels per day.
Crude oil closed down sharply by the end of the trading day Wednesday after investors mulled over the latest data set from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Gasoline stocks were up by 1.5 million barrels, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel drop.
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Last week, the API reported a 1.3-million-barrel draw for crude oil inventories for week ending April 7, while the EIA reported a 2.2-million-barrel draw.
Oil steadied on Wednesday after OPEC said it was committed to eroding a global supply overhang that has dogged markets since 2014, but with USA output and inventories rising, analysts said prices looked vulnerable.
Iran fed hopes that OPEC and non-OPEC producers would extend the cuts, but Saudi Arabia's energy minister said it was too early to discuss an extension.
Since the start of the year, oil prices have risen roughly around 20% after OPEC and other heavyweights such as Russian Federation agreed to slash their output by almost 1.8 million barrels a day. On the other hand, the United Arab Emirates will reduce output by 139,000 barrels a day, Kuwait by 131,000 barrels a day and non-OPEC member Russian Federation will cut by as much as 300,000 barrels per day.
The increased oil stockpiles that are driving the cost per barrel down that will lead to higher prices at the pump come amid OPEC's fight to reduced the global crude stockpile. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on April 18 that although crude inventories fell by 840,000 bbl in the week to April 14, they remained near record highs.
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