Oil prices rallied Friday in a rare respite from their six-month collapse after international energy monitors lowered their forecast for supply increases this year, potentially alleviating the growing glut of crude sloshing around the globe. Still, analysts said the new outlook was only modestly bullish and attributed the day’s gains to traders buying futures to close bearish bets against the market ahead of a long U.S. holiday weekend. The U.S. benchmark contract ended the day up $2.44, or 5.3%, at $48.69 a barrel. The gains helped U.S. oil futures rise 0.7% for the week, ending seven consecutive weeks of losses, the longest such streak for since 1986. The global Brent contract rose $1.90, or 3.9%, to $50.17 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. Crude has lost more than half of its value since last summer as a combination of ample supply and lackluster demand spooked the markets. […]