Forexpros –
Forexpros – Crude oil futures moved lower in U.S. trade Friday, retreating from the previous session’s rise on the back of higher equities and hopes for imminent action to address European debt woes.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for October delivery traded at USD87.92 a barrel during mid-day U.S. trade, falling 1.7%, after hitting a daily high of USD89.77.
Speaking from a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers in Poland Friday, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said a decision on the next round of Greek aid would be made in October.
Earlier, the ECB announced it would be providing U.S. dollar loans to European banks in order to provide them with enough cash through the end of the year, in a coordinated effort along with the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank.
Encouraged by the ECB move European markets gained on the day; in late Friday trade France’s CAC was up 0.31% to 3,055.25, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.04% to 5,392.97 and Germany’s DAX was higher by 2.3% to 5,635.14.
Elsewhere on Friday, the University of Michigan released its report on U.S. consumer sentiment showing a more-than-expected gain to 57.8 in August, up from 55.7 in the previous month. Economists had forecast the index to hit 56.0 last month.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, based on a survey of 500 consumers in the U.S., measures the level of consumer confidence in economic activity and is seen as a harbinger of future spending habits.
Wall Street shares were on track a fifth straight winning session, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging up 0.46% to 11,485.40, the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.36% to 2,616.53, and the S&P 500 added 0.29%. to 1,212.60.
A rising U.S. dollar added to downward pressure on oil futures, as dollar-denominated futures contracts tend to fall when the dollar rises.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 0.52% to 77.19.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for October delivery retreated 0.16% to trade at USD112.14.
Forexpros
