By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures settled higher Friday, trading comfortably above $82 a barrel, fueled by strength in the equities market and a weaker dollar.
Crude oil for November delivery (CLX10 82.84, +1.17, +1.43%) advanced 99 cents, or 1.2%, to $82.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
That represents a 1.3% weekly gain for oil, following gains in the two previous weeks.
Earlier Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA 11,006, +57.90, +0.53%) crossed above 11,000 for the first time since May, as equities overcame a weak start to post gains. Read more about U.S. stocks.
“Of late, there’s been a strong connection between the oil and equities markets, which are always in step with one another,” said Mark Gilman, an oil and gas analyst at The Benchmark Co. in New York.
A weaker dollar also contributed to crude’s gains, after the U.S. currency recently hit a fresh 15-year low against the Japanese yen. The dollar index (DXY 77.18, -0.21, -0.27%) , which compares the U.S. unit against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.1% to 77.31.
The dollar’s weakness is usually positive for dollar-denominated commodities as it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies. Read more about the dollar in Currencies.
Natural-gas futures recovered from Thursday’s trough, with the November contract (NGX10 3.65, +0.03, +0.77%) adding 3 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $3.65 per million British thermal units.
That’s a 3.9% weekly loss for natural gas, a third consecutive week of losses and the worst seven-day period since the commodity lost 10% at the end of August.
The commodity closed Thursday at its lowest level since late April, plunging more than 6% as a Department of Energy report showed a bigger-than-expected increase in inventories of the fuel.
Gasoline and heating-oil futures posted gains Friday, further aided by a spreading strike at a top oil port in France. Several French refineries could shut down during the weekend as the strike at the Fos-Lavera port, near Marseille, reaches its 12th day.
Gasoline for November delivery (RBX10 2.12, -0.04, -1.93%) rose 3 cents, or 1.6%, to $2.15 a gallon. On the week, gasoline has gained 2.9%.
November heating oil (HOX10 2.29, +0.04, +1.67%) added 3 cents, or 1.3%, to $2.28 a gallon. For the week, heating oil posted a 0.5% weekly loss.
Earlier Friday, the Labor Department reported the U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6% in September as the economy lost 95,000 jobs.
The report was at the heart of moves for stocks and the dollar, as it increased the probability that monetary authorities would act sooner rather than later to help the economy.
