Prices fall by 8% for the week
A strong dollar pushed crude prices substantially lower on Friday, 08 August, 2008. Prices dropped more than $4 on Friday and lost more than $10 for the week.
Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for September delivery closed at $115.2/barrel (lower by 4.82 or 4.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures earlier fell to an intraday low of $115.1 a barrel. For the week, crude prices ended lower by $9.9 (8%). Crude lost $15.92 (11%) in July, 2008, the biggest ever in dollars. Still at the end, it was not so bad as it seems, as prices retreated from a gain of 2.7%.
the dollar rallied against the euro. The dollar surged against major counterparts, mostly as concerns about the eurozone economy increased following the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday. The greenback garnered attention following cautions that the European economy would weaken. As tighter credit and higher costs hit the continent, growth prospects become dimmed, making it less likely the ECB will hike interest rates. The dollar index traded 1.6% higher.
Crude prices gained 38% in the second quarter of this year. It was the biggest quarterly increase in nine years. It ended June 2008 higher by 9.9%. Prices are 42% higher than a year ago. For the year, crude is up by 22% till date.
Against this background, September reformulated gasoline fell 11.5 cents to close at $2.8874 a gallon, down 6.4% for the week. September heating oil dropped 10.6 cents to end at $3.128 a gallon, down 9% for the week.
September natural gas futures dropped 32.3 cents, or 3.8%, to finish at $8.248 per million British thermal units. It touched a low of $8.21, the lowest intraday level since early February. For the week, it sank 12.2%.
A strong dollar pushed crude prices substantially lower on Friday, 08 August, 2008. Prices dropped more than $4 on Friday and lost more than $10 for the week.
Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for September delivery closed at $115.2/barrel (lower by 4.82 or 4.4%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures earlier fell to an intraday low of $115.1 a barrel. For the week, crude prices ended lower by $9.9 (8%). Crude lost $15.92 (11%) in July, 2008, the biggest ever in dollars. Still at the end, it was not so bad as it seems, as prices retreated from a gain of 2.7%.
the dollar rallied against the euro. The dollar surged against major counterparts, mostly as concerns about the eurozone economy increased following the European Central Bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday. The greenback garnered attention following cautions that the European economy would weaken. As tighter credit and higher costs hit the continent, growth prospects become dimmed, making it less likely the ECB will hike interest rates. The dollar index traded 1.6% higher.
Crude prices gained 38% in the second quarter of this year. It was the biggest quarterly increase in nine years. It ended June 2008 higher by 9.9%. Prices are 42% higher than a year ago. For the year, crude is up by 22% till date.
Against this background, September reformulated gasoline fell 11.5 cents to close at $2.8874 a gallon, down 6.4% for the week. September heating oil dropped 10.6 cents to end at $3.128 a gallon, down 9% for the week.
September natural gas futures dropped 32.3 cents, or 3.8%, to finish at $8.248 per million British thermal units. It touched a low of $8.21, the lowest intraday level since early February. For the week, it sank 12.2%.
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