Oil prices rise on Putin's comments

Oil prices halted four-day declines and ended higher on Friday as Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would like Russia and OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) to reach a crude output freeze.

Putin said in an interview on Friday that he may propose to complete the plan when he meets with Saudi Arabia' s Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Group of 20 summit in China next week.

His remarks bolstered market speculation for an oil output freeze in the coming weeks, which supported the oil prices on Friday.

Crude prices had been decreased for four consecutive sessions this week as investors'concerns on the oversupply in the market intensified.

The Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday that the U.S. crude inventories added 2.3 million barrels to 525.9 million barrels in the week ending August 26, beating market consensus of a 921,000-barrels gain.

The West Texas Intermediate for October delivery added 1.28 U.S. dollars to settle at 44.44 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for November delivery gained 1.38 U.S. dollars to close at 46.83 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

Source : XINHUA