NEW YORK, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Oil futures edged up in volatile trading on Friday, but concerns over weaker demand kept prices lower for the week.
The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery added 27 cents, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 90.77 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for October delivery increased 13 cents, or 0.1 percent, to close at 96.72 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil was unchanged at 601 this week, Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday.
The total active U.S. rig count, which includes those drilling for natural gas, fell by one to stand at 762, showed the report.
For the week, the U.S. crude benchmark dropped 1.4 percent, while Brent declined 1.5 percent, based on the front-month contracts.
