Forexpros – Crude oil futures moved toward a weekly gain in New York Friday on strong U.S. economic numbers and Iranian supply worries.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for February settlement traded at USD102.33 a barrel during early U.S. trade giving climbing 0.51%.
It earlier hit a daily high of USD102.53 and a low of USD101.31 a barrel.
Slight weakness in the U.S. dollar helped lift oil prices.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gave back 0.17% to trade at 81.16.
Dollar weakness generally lifts commodity prices, as it increases their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities less expensive for holders of other currencies.
A rally of strong U.S. economic data combined with Iranian supply worries helped fuel the bullish oil run.
The latest positive U.S. numbers indicated payrolls advanced by 155,000 workers indicating growth in the world’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, the euro zone has agreed on principle to begin an oil embargo against Iran per a diplomat. However, the details of the potential embargo remain uncertain. This fear added support to recent crude oil prices.
France came into danger of losing its AAA credit rating, yesterday, after a bond auction disappointed investors adding to euro zone crisis concerns.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery traded higher by 0.12% to trade at USD112.88 a barrel, up USD10.58 on its U.S. Counterpart.
This greater than USD10.00 spread is near historic highs. The two contracts traditionally trade within USD1.00 of each other.
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