MW: Oil veers in and out of the red, tries to hold $94
By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures seesawed between small gains and losses Friday, trying to snap a two-session decline amid dollar weakness and higher U.S. stocks.
Crude for January delivery CL2F +0.53% declined 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $93.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has traded in a tight band, as low as $93.39 and as high as $94.79 a barrel.
Oil on Thursday ended at its lowest in six weeks on worries about global demand on the back of Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. The week also included a 5% drop on Wednesday.
U.S. stocks fared better, as investors kept their eyes on the much-awaited market debut of game-maker Zynga Inc ZNGA 0.00% .
Clouding the outlook for stocks, however, was Fitch Rating’s Thursday decision to downgrade debt from big banks such as Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Meanwhile, the dollar traded modestly lower. The dollar index, which compares the U.S. unit to a basket of six currencies, traded at 80.253 from 80.292 in North America trade late Thursday.
A weaker dollar is beneficial for oil and other commodities as it makes them cheaper to holders of other currencies.
Other energy products found firmer footing on Friday. January gasoline RB2F +1.07% rose 2 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.51 per gallon. Heating oil for the same month’s delivery HO2F +0.87% added 2 cents, or 0.6% to $2.84 a gallon.
