Oil prices end slightly lower on profit-taking after solid gains

Oil prices ended slightly lower on profit-taking after recent solid gains.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI)  for June delivery on Friday fell 11 cents to settle at $45.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude for June delivery decreased 1 cent to close at $48.13 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, Xinhua news agency reported. 

The US oil surged about 20% in April, the largest monthly gain in a year, helped by a weaker US dollar and reduced US crude output. Traders were looking for excuses to lock in profit after recent solid gains.

The rising oil production from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members also weighed on investor sentiment. A Bloomberg survey showed that the OPEC boosted output by 484,000 barrels to 33,217 million a day in April.

Meanwhile, the active US rigs count of this week fell by 11 to 332, continuing losses into a sixth week, oilfield services company Baker Hughes said on Friday.