Oil edges higher but logs large weekly loss

Oil futures advance slightly on Friday, underpinned by optimism following strong US jobs data, but still posted big weekly losses.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery rose 0.6%, for the session to settle at $45.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 

However, WTI lost 7.3% over the week, following a slump on Thursday on the back of disappointing US crude inventories data. US inventories fell by 2223K barrels last week according to EIA, below the 2500K draw expected and the API estimate of a 6700K decline in US stockpiles.

On Friday, Baker Hughes data showed US oil rigs increased by 10 to 351 in the week ending Jul 1, marking the fifth increase in six weeks.