RTTN: Crude Eases Near $73 On Demand Worries, Firm Dollar
(RTTNews) - The price of crude oilcontinued to move down for a fourth session Friday morning amid concerns over demand growth and a firm dollar, which rose to its highest level since November 2008 against the euro.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for June delivery were down $1.21 to $73.19 a barrel, lingering near its 3-month low. On Monday, oil rose near $79 after the European leaders and IMF agreed to a nearly $1 trillion package to avoid a major debt crisis.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar set an 18-month high versus the euro as the financial aid package announced by the EU and the IMF to the debt ridden euro nations over the weekend failed to help lift sentiment on the euro. The greenback was also trading around its 14-month high against the British pound.
Some of today's trading action may be guided by U.S. retail sales data for March, scheduled for release later today. Economists project that retail sales for the month rose 0.2% while retail sales excluding auto, increased 0.5%, following 1.9% and 0.9% increases respectively in the previous month.
Also, the Federal Reserve will release a report on industrial production and capacity utilization for April and the Commerce Department will release its business inventories report for March.
