US crude rose for the first time in four days

Oil prices edged up on Friday after a difficult week but were still headed for losses of about 4%, hit by a combination of rising global supply and uncertain future demand.

U.S. crude rose for the first time in four days, gaining 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $54.36 a barrel. The contract was set for a weekly loss of more than 4%.

Brent crude was up 5 cents, or 0.1%, at $59.67 a barrel, leaving it on track for a drop of nearly 4%.

Worries over global economic growth, along with oil demand, continue to haunt the market as leaders from the united states and china struggle to end a 16-month dispute that has roiled trade between the world’s top two economies.

The market received some respite from a run of poor economic data after an unexpected bounce in a private sector survey of Chinese manufacturing activity on Friday, which contrasted with the dour results of an official survey Thursday.

Japanese factory activity, however, sank to more than a three-year low in October, data showed on Friday, in a fresh warning sign for the world’s third-largest economy.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 5.7 million barrels in the week to October 25, dwarfing analyst expectations for an increase of just 494,000 barrels.

A Reuters survey showed that oil prices are likely to remain under pressure this year and next. The poll of 51 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude would average $64.16 a barrel in 2019 and $62.38 next year.