By V. Phani Kumar, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil prices pulled back in electronic trading Friday after a three-day winning streak, as the dollar strengthened and weak U.S. stock indexes pointed toward a likely lower opening on Wall Street.
Crude-oil futures for March delivery CL2H -0.47% fell 37 cents, or 0.4%, to $99.47 a barrel. The front-month contract had risen $1.13 in the regular New York Mercantile Exchange session Thursday, driven by relief over news of an agreement among Greek political leaders to austerity measures.
The drop Friday came as some analysts highlighted the long-term economic impact from the sovereign-debt crisis.
“While it probably takes a certain chaotic, financial crisis [and] instability out of play, it seems to us as though it still extracts the same unavoidable tax on growth prospects. Austerity will still be contractionary, in Greece and elsewhere,” said Timothy Evans, an analyst at Citi Futures Perspective.
“Oil traders remain reluctant to focus too much on the direct physical fundamentals of the market, but these continue to flash signs of weakness,” he said.
Among other energy products, March prices for gasoline RB2H -0.51% fell 0.2% to $3.01 a gallon, and March heating oil HO2H -0.20% was flat at $3.21 a gallon.
March natural-gas futures HO2H -0.20% gave up 0.4% to $2.47 per million British thermal units.
The U.S. dollar DXY +0.07% advanced against most of its major currency rivals Friday to recover some recent losses. Meanwhile, Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.05% futures fell 43 points, or 0.3%, to 12,799.
Varahabhotla Phani Kumar is a reporter in MarketWatch's Hong Kong bureau.
