Crude Oil Gains Slightly, Finishes Week Notably Lower

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Crude oil prices inched higher on Friday but closed the week sharply lower on demand worries. The gain snapped a two-session skid for oil.

Light sweet crude oil rose to $66.20 per barrel, up 13 cents on the session. Prices had hit a seven-week low of $65.05 earlier in the session.

Goldman Sachs raised its fourth quarter forecast by 1.2 million barrels per day. The firm also boosted its demand outlook for next year by 1.6 million barrels a day.

Oil fell more than $6 on the week, its largest decline in more than two months. Prices fell sharply earlier in the week after Energy Department data showed crude oil inventories increased by 2.8 million barrels in the week ended September 18. A decline of 2.25 million barrels was forecast.

In economic news, a Commerce Department report showed that orders for durable goods fell 2.4 percent in August following a revised 4.8 percent increase in July. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected orders to edge up 0.4 percent compared to the 5.1 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.

The Reuters and the University of Michigan reported that consumer sentiment index was revised up to a reading of 73.5 from the preliminary reading of 70.2. With the upward revision, the index came in well above the August reading of 65.7.

The Commerce Department report showed that new home sales rose 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 429,000 in August from a revised 426,000 in July. Economists had expected sales to increase by 1.6 percent to 440,000 from the 433,000 originally reported for the previous month.

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)