The price of crude oil was steady above the $95-mark Friday morning amid a generally firm US dollar.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for August delivery, edged up $0.35 to $95.49 a barrel. Yesterday, oil lost over 3 percent as market sentiments dampened on the U.S. Federal Reserve's stand on its monetary stimulus support for the economy which could be tapered down as early as the year end. Investors also mulled over some disappointing weaker than expected manufacturing activity out of China and initial jobless claims data from the U.S.
This morning the U.S. dollar was hovering around its 2-week high versus the euro and sterling, while extending gains versus the yen and the Swiss franc.
In economic news, the euro area current account surplus declined in April due to falling trade surplus and widening deficit on current transfers, the European Central Bank said. The current account surplus fell to seasonally adjusted EUR 19.5 billion from EUR 25.9 billion a month ago. The surplus on trade in goods decreased to EUR 18.1 billion from EUR 22.5 billion in the previous month. Similarly, the surplus on services fell to EUR 8.2 billion from EUR 8.4 billion.
Germany's leading economic index increased for the fifth successive month in April, data from a survey by the Conference Board showed. The leading economic index moved up 0.1 percent sequentially to 105 in April after recording a 0.4 percent growth in March. The index increased for the fifth consecutive month.
