The better-than-expected U.S. retail sales and consumer sentiment data boosted the dollar and raised the prospect of a healthy season for the industry and consumers alike. But it had an opposite effect on commodities priced on the U.S. currency and erased oil's gains from earlier in the session.
Crude oil for January delivery ended down 67 cents, or 0.9 percent, at $69.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The eight-session losing streak is the longest since October 2003.
In other energy trading Friday, January gasoline fell 2.22 cents, or 1.2 percent to $1.8351 a gallon. Heating oil added rose slightly to $1.9085 a gallon, and natural gas sank 13.5 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $5.163 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.623 per gallon Friday, down from Thursday's $2.629, AAA said.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
Post new comment