Crude oil settled above 53 U.S. dollars on Friday as a report showing signs of improvement in manufacturing offset lackluster economic reports.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 2.08 dollars to close at 53.20 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures rallied to as high as 53.65 dollars a barrel during the intraday trading.

Oil was mainly boosted by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)'s monthly report on manufacturing activities. The ISM manufacturing index rose to 40.1 in April from 36.3 in March, beating economists' expectation of 38.

While the current reading still points to contraction, it somehow provides investors with confidence that the heavy industry, which is a major energy consumer, is healing.

In London, Brent crude for June delivery rose 2.05 dollars to settle at 52.85 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2009)