The price of crude oil was extending losses for a fourth session Friday morning amid demand concerns as the stalemate in the U.S. budget talks continued with no resolution as yet to avert the fiscal cliff.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for January delivery, shed $0.19 to $86.07 a barrel. Yesterday, oil extended losses for a third session on a strong dollar and demand concerns after an Energy Information Administration weekly oil report yesterday showed a more-than-expected increase in gasoline inventories last week. Investors were also concerned over the euro zone economic growth forecast cut by The European Central Bank which is expected to drive demand for oil downward.
This morning, the U.S. dollar was advancing toward a 2-week high versus the euro and the Swiss franc, while hovering around a weekly high against sterling. The buck was hovering near its 7-month high versus the yen.
In economic news, the Bundesbank lowered Germany's growth forecast for next year and said the latest projection is characterized by a "high degree of uncertainty." The gross domestic product is now expected to grow 0.4 percent in 2013, slower than 1.6 percent expansion previously forecast. Growth in 2012 is estimated at 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, data released by the Ministry of Economics and Technology showed that Germany's industrial production decreased at a faster pace in October, while economists expected output remain unchanged. Industrial production declined a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent month-on-month in October, notably faster than the upwardly revised 1.3 percent fall seen in September.
Traders will look to the non-farm payroll report from the U.S. Labor Department, due out at 8.30 a.m ET. Economists expect non-farm payrolls for November to increase by 80,000, while the unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 8 percent.
