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Oil pared early gains and closed below $73 Friday, as traders weighed a soaring Dollar and demand concerns from major consumer China over the effect of upbeat data showing a stronger-than-expected economic growth in the US.
Crude oil for delivery in March settled $0.75 lower at $72.89 per barrel in the New York Mercantile Exchange, losing for the third consecutive week after touching a yearly high near $84 earlier this month.
The Dollar rose to a six-month high against the Euro after data showed U.S. economic activity expanded for the second consecutive quarter in the final three months of 2009, with the pace of gross domestic product growth far exceeding economist estimates.
A preliminary report released by the Commerce Department showed that gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 2.2 percent growth seen in the third quarter.
US Federal Open Market Committee had left its overnight interest rate unchanged in the range zero to 0.25%.
In yet another supportive news for the greenback, the US consumer sentiment improved in January to the highest level in two years. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 74.4 in January from 72.5 in December, against economists' expectations for a more modest increase to a reading of 73.0.
The US Senate had voted to confirm Ben Bernanke for a second term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Thursday.
The latest inventory update from US Energy Information Administration had revealed a surprise decline by 3.9 million barrels in crude stockpiles during the week ended Jan. 22.
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