Crude registers good weekly gains

Crude still stays a little shy of $80

Crude prices ended higher on Friday, 19 February 2010. Prices were volatile and pared earlier losses as Fed decided to hike its discount rate after a long time leading to speculation about withdrawal of stimulus package. The dollar rose to nine-month highs on Friday once again.

On Friday, crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for March delivery closed at $79.81/barrel (higher by $0.75 or 0.9%). During intra day trading, prices fell to a low of $77.76. For the week, crude gained 7.7%. In January 2010, crude ended lower by 8.3%. On a year to date basis, crude is higher by 0.8%.

In the currency market on Friday, the dollar index, which weighs the strength of dollar against the basket of six other currencies rose by almost 0.3%.

Among economic report scheduled for the day, The Labor Department in US reported Friday, 19 February 2010 that core consumer prices fell 0.1% in January, the first such decline since 1982.

The EIA reported earlier during the week that U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended 12 February. The EIA also said gasoline supplies rose by 1.62 million barrels, more than the 1.5 million barrels forecast. However, distillates fell by 2.94 million barrels on the week, far greater than the 1.6 million barrels expected.

Among other energy products on Friday, gasoline rose 1.65 cents, or 0.8% to end the session at $2.0857 a gallon in New York.

Natural gas fell to its lowest price in 10 weeks in New York on Friday anticipation of milder weather that would cut demand for the heating fuel. Natural gas for March delivery fell 12.8 cents, or 2.5% to settle at $5.044 per million British thermal units. Gas fell 7.8% this week.