By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Crude futures dropped early Friday, extending recent losses, as traders braced for a day of protests in oil-rich Saudi Arabia and kept an eye on the conflict in Libya.
Investors also digested news of a powerful earthquake which shook northeastern Japan on Friday and triggered a tsunami alert. Read more about the Japanese quake.
Crude oil for April delivery (CLJ11 101.43, -1.27, -1.24%) fell 63 cents to $102.07 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Crude futures dropped early Friday, extending recent losses, as traders braced for a day of protests in oil-rich Saudi Arabia and kept an eye on the conflict in Libya.
Investors also digested news of a powerful earthquake which shook northeastern Japan on Friday and triggered a tsunami alert. Read more about the Japanese quake.
Crude oil for April delivery (CLJ11 101.43, -1.27, -1.24%) fell 63 cents to $102.07 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex.
The contract earlier hit an intraday low of $100.87 a barrel.
In New York Thursday, April crude futures sank 1.6%, posting their third straight losing session.
The oil market is bracing for a so-called “day of rage” in Saudi Arabia Friday, where activists have urged protests against the kingdom’s rulers.
These protests will come as a wave of political unrest has swept across the Middle East and North Africa in recent weeks, toppling the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and causing a violent conflict in Libya.
