MW: Crude oil turns higher after U.S. home-sales data
By Claudia Assis & Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures changed direction Friday, posting gains after a report showed U.S. home sales surged.
The price of oil had fluctuated earlier, as markets looked for news to find their footing and came under pressure Friday following news that orders for durable goods plunged in March. Read Market Snapshot.
Crude for June delivery gained 26 cents to $83.95 a barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. On the week, the contract lost 0.8%.
Sales of newly built homes in the U.S. rose 27% in March after hitting a record low in February. Read full story about new-home sales.
Oil prices continue "to be supported by a relative selective interpretation of the fundamental reports," typified by the focus durable-goods orders and the home-sales data "even as home foreclosures also reached a new record," Citi Futures Perspective analyst Tim Evans said in a report Friday.
The government reported demand for U.S.-made durable goods fell 1.3% in March for the first time in four months as orders for new aircraft plunged 67%. Excluding transportation goods, however, new orders rose 2.8% in March, the fastest growth since the recession began in December 2007.
Meanwhile, other energy products also posted gains, with natural gas seeing some follow-through from Thursday's less-than-expected increase in U.S. natural-gas storages.
Natural gas for June delivery gained 3 cents, or 0.6%, to $4.24 per million British thermal units.
Gasoline for June delivery rose a penny, or 0.6%, to $2.32 a gallon.
The euro hit a one-year low versus the dollar, but came off its session lows as Greece formally asked for an aid package from the International Monetary Fund and European Union. Read more in Currencies.
On Thursday, the European Union's statistics agency said Greece's deficit was worse than first thought, and could be revised upward.
Moody's Investors Service downgraded the country's sovereign ratings to A3, virtually ensuring that the International Monetary Fund and euro-zone nations would have to move within weeks to bail out Greece.
