Earlier rallies set prices for a weekly gain around 7%
By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures took a breather Friday, trading lower after sharp gains earlier in the week but holding on to the $92-a-barrel level and looking poised to notch a sizeable weekly gain.
Crude for December delivery CL1Z -0.83% retreated $1.12, or 1.2%, to $92.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as high as $93.93 a barrel, and as low as $92.01 a barrel.
Prices are on track for a gain around 7% on the week.
Oil soared 4.2% on Thursday as investors cheered the euro zone’s plan to contain its sovereign-debt crisis and news the U.S. economy had expanded in the third quarter.
“Few expected a comprehensive plan to be delivered, but for all its imperfections, (Thursday’s) announcement showed a degree of unity within Europe towards common goals and that politicians had started to understand the magnitude of shifts that were needed to calm market concerns,” analysts at J. P. Morgan said in a note to clients.
For oil and other commodities, it remains to be seen how much the latest from Europe “changes the global, and more importantly, emerging-market economic outlook,” they added.
Earlier Friday, good news on the macroeconomic front helped keep a floor on prices. U.S. consumers saved less and spent more in September, according to government data. Personal income rose 0.1%, and consumer spending jumped 0.6%, the Commerce Department said. Read more about consumer spending.
Also Friday, a gauge of consumer sentiment rose to 60.9 in the final reading for October, compared with a preliminary reading of 57.5, according to reports on the data from Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a slight gain to 58.
Other energy products tracked oil lower. November gasoline RB1X -1.43% , which expires Monday, declined 5 cents, or 1.7%, to $2.70 a gallon. November heating oil HO1X -0.96% , also expiring at the close of business Monday, retreated 4 cents, or 1.2%, to $3.06 a gallon.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
