By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures pared some gains Friday as data showed a decline in U.S. manufacturing activity, but prices kept above $80 a barrel.
Crude for November delivery (CLX10 80.79, +0.82, +1.03%) was up 67 cents, or 0.8%, to $80.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A close along these lines would be oil’s highest since Aug. 5, and the first settlement above the $80 mark since mid-August.
Crude hit an intraday high of $81.47 a barrel earlier, but manufacturing data dented its rise.
The Institute of Supply Management said its index fell to 54.4 in September from 56.3 in August, results found disappointing by financial markets.
Traders also had to contend with August data on U.S. personal income, which rose 0.5%, and personal spending, which climbed 0.4%, as reported by the Commerce Department. Earlier, a report also showed a surprise rise for construction spending for August.
Friday’s gains came as crude oil finished out September and the third quarter on big gains.
For September, crude oil surged 11.2%, the best monthly rise since May 2009 when crude leapt 29.7%. Crude finished the third quarter up 5.7%.
Also Friday, gasoline tracked the gains in crude with the November contract (RBX10 2.03, +0.05, +2.29%) adding 2 cents, or 0.9%, to $2.06 a gallon.
However, natural-gas futures retreated further, with the November contract (NGX 16.33, +0.18, +1.12%) losing 3 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.84 per million British thermal units.
