Crude prices move up at Nymex following positive economic data and weak dollar

Prices register 0.3% weekly loss

Crude-oil prices climbed on Friday, 16 March 2012 at Nymex. Light and sweet crude oil moved up at Nymex following positive economic data and weak dollar.

April futures for light, sweet crude rose $1.95, or 1.9%, to $107.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude-oil futures had faced a more than 1% decline for the week, but Friday's advance reduced the weekly loss to 0.3%.



Ahead of the opening bell, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices rose less than expected last month, rising 0.4% versus expectations of a 0.5% increase. Core prices that remove volatile food and energy costs rose 0.1% versus expectations of a 0.2% uptick.

Other economic reports Friday had the Federal Reserve reporting the output of U.S. factories, mines and utilities held flat in February, while January production was revised to a 0.4% increase from an initial estimate of unchanged.

Consumer sentiment dipped to 74.3 in a preliminary reading for March from a final level of 75.3 for February, according to data on Friday from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters. Market had expected a March reading of 76.5.

The dollar index, which weighs the strength of the dollar against a basket of six other currencies fell by almost 0.4%.

Among other energy products, April heating oil rose 6 cents to $3.28 a gallon and April gasoline climbed 7 cents to stand at $3.36 a gallon.

April natural gas tacked on 5 cents, or 2.1%, to $2.33 per million British thermal units.