MW: Crude-oil futures fall back, but hold above $102
By Steve Gelsi, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. crude futures slid Wednesday after a big run-up in the previous session, but the price of oil still held above $102 a barrel.
In recent trades, crude futures for February delivery CL2G +0.51% dipped 0.7% to $102.21 a barrel.
Crude futures took their cue from equity and other industrial commodities, which cooled off after big gains on Tuesday.
In recent days, sanction against Iran, a major oil producer, as well as better-than-expected economic data pushed up oil prices .
In the latest energy wrinkle, South Korea and Japan are mulling the implications of U.S. moves to toughen sanctions against Iran, with each facing a potential disruption of oil imports from a country that meets close to 10% of their crude needs. See story on Iran sanctions.
In the previous session, crude futures rallied $4.13, or 4.2%, to end at $102.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in oil’s highest settlement since May 10, and the largest one-day percentage gain since Oct. 24.
Steve Gelsi is a reporter for MarketWatch in New York.
