Crude Oil Ends Below $105; Sheds Near 3% For Week

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil ended at a near two-week low Friday, despite the dollar weakening against some major currencies, on lingering concerns over demand growth after some downbeat manufacturing activity data from China earlier this week. Nevertheless, the downtrend was somewhat limited by some upbeat consumer sentiment data from the U.S.

For the week, oil prices registered its first loss in five weeks, shedding around 3 percent.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $0.79 or 0.8 percent to close at $104.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

Crude prices for September delivery scaled a high of $105.63 a barrel intraday and a low of $103.90.

Yesterday, oil settled sightly higher as the dollar weakened against a basket of few major currencies and driven by some mixed macroeconomic data out of the U.S. -- tracking mainly the uptick in new orders for manufactured durable goods.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 81.61 on Friday, down from 81.77 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 81.83 intraday and a low of 81.55.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3285 on Friday, as compared to $1.3277 late Thursday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3300 intraday and a low of $1.3254.

In economic news from the U.S., a Thomson Reuters and University of Michigan report upwardly revised the consumer sentiment index for July to 85.1 from the preliminary reading of 83.9. Economists expected the index to be upwardly revised to 84.0. The index is now above the final June reading of 84.1 and at its highest level since July 2007.

Elsewhere, Germany's import prices declined for a sixth consecutive month in June, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed. Import prices declined 2.2 percent year-on-year in June, after a 2.9 percent fall in May. The pace of decline, however, was the slowest in four months.

French consumer confidence improved to 82 in July from a revised reading of 79 a month ago, data from the statistical office Insee showed. Economists expected the index to rise to 79 from June's initially estimated record low level 78.

Eurozone's leading economic index increased for the third successive month in June, lifting hopes that the recession-stricken economy would recover in the second half, a Conference Board survey showed. The leading economic index moved up 0.5 percent on a monthly basis to 107.5 in June, marking the third successive growth. In May and April, the index rose by 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent respectively.