A drop in crude oil prices that marked an end to the OPEC honeymoon was saved in part by U.S. data showing steady labor gains, though wages remained soft.

Crude oil prices rallied more than 10 percent at one point after members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to coordinate on a production ceiling of around 32.5 million barrels per day.

Simon Flowers, a chief analyst for consultant group Wood Mackenzie, said the agreement is significant in that it shows the 14-member production group can still be influential in working to balance the global oil market.

"We expect it to trade at an average of $55-$60 per barrel in 2017, which shows that the agreement is very significant indeed," he said. "However, this does depend on OPEC being very careful to meet the terms of the agreement."

The agreement Wednesday sparked at a rally that spilled into trading on Thursday, though investors started to tread lightly as the reality of the direction for crude oil started to set in. Olivier Jakob, managing director of Switzerland-based consultant Petromatrix, said investors in West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark price for crude oil, "are not waiting for $70 per barrel."

Crude oil prices had dropped more than 1 percent in overnight trading, but recovered some ground by the time trading opened in New York. The price for Brent crude oil was off just 0.2 percent to start the day at $53.83 per barrel. WTI was relatively even at $51.08.

Traders have started to crunch the numbers and weight the commitments from OPEC members and non-member states like Russia, whose position on production has remained fluid. A research note from brokerage PVM said Friday that this week's rally for crude oil prices may have been a "knee-jerk reaction" and "pockets of unease" were starting to emerge from the sidelines of the market.

Crude oil prices got support Friday from data showing gains in U.S. employment. The unemployment rate in November dipped to 4.6 as the U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in non-farm payrolls. That follows economic data that show gross domestic product increased more than 3 percent in the third quarter.

Underneath the strong employment gains, however, are signs that workers are still struggling to make ends meet. Average hourly earnings for non-farm payrolls declined slightly in November, following a spike the previous month.