Oil prices rose nearly 3% on Friday, climbing further from five-month lows hit this week, after Saudi Arabia said OPEC was close to agreeing to extend an output production cut beyond June and as Wall Street rallied. Brent crude futures gained $1.62, or 2.6%, to settle at $63.29 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended at $53.99 a barrel, up $1.40, or 2.7%. Brent posted its third weekly decline, dropping nearly 2%, while WTI gained about 1% for the week. On Wednesday both benchmarks hit their lowest since January. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told a conference in Russia that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies should extend oil production cuts. He said that while OPEC was close to agreement, more talks were needed with non-OPEC countries that were part of the deal to reduce output by 1.2 […]