Another day in the red for crude, which settles under $80 a barrel
By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures declined Friday, finishing a dismal September sharply in the red as hopes dimmed that oil demand would pick up amid fears of slow growth and heightened concerns about the euro-zone debt crisis.
Crude for November delivery CL1X -4.13% lost $2.94, or 3.6%, to end at $79.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was oil’s lowest settlement for a most-active contract since July 2010.
Losses intensified as U.S. stocks traded at session lows. Equities are viewed as a proxy for economic activity and as such one for oil demand as well, with the two assets frequently trading in tandem.
On the month, oil futures lost 11%, and quarterly losses clocked in at 17%, the worst on-quarter performance since the June-September period in 2008 -- a high-water-mark for the financial crisis.
By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures declined Friday, finishing a dismal September sharply in the red as hopes dimmed that oil demand would pick up amid fears of slow growth and heightened concerns about the euro-zone debt crisis.
Crude for November delivery CL1X -4.13% lost $2.94, or 3.6%, to end at $79.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was oil’s lowest settlement for a most-active contract since July 2010.
Losses intensified as U.S. stocks traded at session lows. Equities are viewed as a proxy for economic activity and as such one for oil demand as well, with the two assets frequently trading in tandem.
On the month, oil futures lost 11%, and quarterly losses clocked in at 17%, the worst on-quarter performance since the June-September period in 2008 -- a high-water-mark for the financial crisis.
