WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Oil prices rallied on Friday to extend gains from the previous session amid indications that OPEC and allies may extend crude supply cuts.
Benchmark Brent crude rallied 1.2 percent to $62.39 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 1.1 percent at $53.17 per barrel.
Prices received some support after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said OPEC is close to agreeing to extend an oil supply-cutting agreement beyond June.
Speaking at an economic forum in St Petersburg, Russia, Al-Falih said that perfect stability on the oil market had not been achieved and the market was being influenced by factors outside 'our' control.
'I'm hoping it will be an easy decision and that we'll roll over, but if it's not, we will be flexible in terms of our position in the kingdom. A return to the price-crash environment of 2014-15 is simply unacceptable,' he added.
On the negative side, demand sentiment remains fragile amid fears about faltering global economic growth as the U.S.-China trade war intensifies.
Top financial policymakers from the world's 20 most powerful nations gather this weekend in Japan as the trade war clouds the economic outlook.
A White House spokeswoman said the Monday deadline for tariffs on Mexico has not changed as negotiations continue.
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