Oil settles lower and posts weekly loss

Oil prices settled lower on Friday following a disappointing US nonfarm payrolls report and an increase in the US crude oil rigs this week.

West Texas Intermediate oil for July delivery settled at $48.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 1.1% on the day. For or the week, prices lost  1.4% following three straight weeks of gains.

Prices received a boost following the release of a sour jobs report, with WTI peaking at $49.41 a barrel before retreating.

On Thursday, OPEC members failed to reach an agreement to cap output at a meeting in Vienna, which weighed on prices.

On Friday, Baker Hughes reported US oil rig count rose to 325 versus 316 the previous week.