Oil drops closer to $52.00 mark on profit-taking

WTI crude oil traded with bearish bias on Friday as pre-Christmas profit-taking takes charge amid subdued trading action.

Currently trading around $52.35-40 band, the black gold reversed majority of Thursday's recovery move as investors locked-in some profits ahead of the holiday season. Moreover, the US Dollar has also managed to recover from early profit-taking slide and is further collaborating Friday's slide. A stronger greenback usually weighs on dollar-denominated commodities - like oil

However, the downside seems limited as the recent output cut agreement, starting January, between OPEC and non-OPEC producers might continue to underpin the commodity. Last month OPEC cartel agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day, while non-OPEC producers will cut production by 558,000 barrels. 

Meanwhile, some market participants remained skeptical of the OPEC deal, raised doubts over implementations and adherence to production quotas agreed upon in the OPEC deal. However, it would be prudent to wait and see it eh cuts actually materialize and contribute towards rebalancing the oil market. 

Later during NY session, Baker Hughes US rig count data is due for release and would be looked upon to see if higher prices has led to increase in shale production activity and might provide some fresh impetus for short-term traders.