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Oil settles below US$74 on mixed economic data
Source: Agencies |
June 12, 2010, Saturday
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Online Edition
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OIL prices lost ground yesterday but ended the week higher than where they started it.
Benchmark crude for July delivery dropped US$1.70 to close at US$73.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose US$1.10 to settle at US$75.48 a barrel on Thursday. Prices started the week at US$71.51.
Reports this week that Chinese exports rose by nearly 50 percent in May helped crude prices at midweek. So did reassuring words from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the recovery in the U.S. remains on track and the economy is unlikely to fall back into recession.
Oil prices got a boost when the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all rose about 3 percent on Thursday with the encouraging economic news and prospects for stronger oil and gas demand.
Oil traders have been trying to get a sense of where prices are headed from a mixed bag of data. Yesterday, May retail sales came in well below analysts' expectations, while the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index said consumer confidence grew to its highest level since January 2008 and was well above forecasts.
"Some of the worst-case scenarios don't look at bleak as they did a couple of weeks ago," PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said.
After reaching US$87.15 a barrel in early May, oil dropped below US$70 as concerns rose that the European debt crisis could squash demand for crude and that the U.S. may slip back into a recession.
In other Nymex trading in July contracts, heating oil lost 2.75 cents to settle at US$2.0053 a gallon, while gasoline fell 2.08 cents to settle at US$2.0497 a gallon. Natural gas gained 13.4 cents to settle at US$4.781 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Brent crude fell 94 cents to settle at US$74.35 on the ICE futures exchange.
Benchmark crude for July delivery dropped US$1.70 to close at US$73.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose US$1.10 to settle at US$75.48 a barrel on Thursday. Prices started the week at US$71.51.
Reports this week that Chinese exports rose by nearly 50 percent in May helped crude prices at midweek. So did reassuring words from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the recovery in the U.S. remains on track and the economy is unlikely to fall back into recession.
Oil prices got a boost when the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all rose about 3 percent on Thursday with the encouraging economic news and prospects for stronger oil and gas demand.
Oil traders have been trying to get a sense of where prices are headed from a mixed bag of data. Yesterday, May retail sales came in well below analysts' expectations, while the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index said consumer confidence grew to its highest level since January 2008 and was well above forecasts.
"Some of the worst-case scenarios don't look at bleak as they did a couple of weeks ago," PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said.
After reaching US$87.15 a barrel in early May, oil dropped below US$70 as concerns rose that the European debt crisis could squash demand for crude and that the U.S. may slip back into a recession.
In other Nymex trading in July contracts, heating oil lost 2.75 cents to settle at US$2.0053 a gallon, while gasoline fell 2.08 cents to settle at US$2.0497 a gallon. Natural gas gained 13.4 cents to settle at US$4.781 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Brent crude fell 94 cents to settle at US$74.35 on the ICE futures exchange.
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