Investing.com - U.S. oil prices bounced off three-week lows on Friday, but gains were expected to remain limited as concerns over U.S. stockpile levels and production continued to weigh.
U.S. crude futures for April delivery were up 0.21% at $52.72 a barrel, off a three-week low of $52.61 hit overnight.
On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, the May Brent contract gained 0.33% to trade at $55.26 a barrel, after hitting a two-week trough of $55.09 earlier in the session.
Crude prices came under pressure after the Energy Information Agency said on Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories rose for an eighth straight week to a record 520.2 million barrels for the week ending February 24.
The build-up in U.S. crude oil inventories to record high levels, overshadowed a Reuters survey on Tuesday that found OPEC cut its oil output for a second month in February, following a record high compliance level by OPEC members in January.
Investors were also jittery following reports that Russia’s February oil output was unchanged from January at 11.1 million barrels per day (bdp), with cuts remaining at 100,000, which is well below the production cuts pledged by Russia in a deal with OPEC last November.