Oil finishes lower for the week
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil ended the day below US$83 a barrel on a weaker dollar Friday, finishing down about 4 per cent for the week.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery fell 12 cents to finish at US$82.26 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising as high as US$83.55. It fell back as stocks sold off Friday afternoon. Oil traders have been watching stocks for signs about the direction of the economy.
In London, Brent crude rose US$1.63 to end the day at US$108.62 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Benchmark crude is still well above its lowest point in the past year. It finished at US$71.63 a barrel last August 24.
PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn thinks traders may have overreacted after oil fell nearly 6 per cent Thursday on a batch of negative economic news. He said that traders will remain guarded until there is more clarity about where the economy may be headed.
Crude got some support Friday from a weaker dollar, which hit a new post-World War II low against the Japanese yen. Oil and other commodities are priced in dollars, so a weaker dollar makes them cheaper for traders who use other currencies. Oil lost some ground by the end of the day as the dollar got a little stronger.
In other Nymex trading for September contracts, heating oil rose 2.97 cents to finish at US$2.9045 per gallon and gasoline futures added 5.08 cents to end at US$2.8412 per gallon. Natural gas rose 4.8 cents to finish at US$3.940 per 1,000 cubic feet.
