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Oil fell to settle near $72 a barrel Friday, dragged from eight-month highs as the dollar firmed and players took profits from a three-day rally.
The U.S. dollar rebounded from a sell-off earlier this week, while demand for the euro fell after data showed a plunge in euro zone industrial production.
U.S. light, sweet crude [US@CL.1 Loading... ()] fell 64 cents to settle at $72.04 a barrel. London Brent crude [GB@IB.1 Loading... ()] settled 87 cents lower at $70.92 a barrel.
"The petroleum markets are seeing at least a light round of Friday profit-taking, encouraged by an upturn in the U.S. dollar," said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York.
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Mark Lennihan / AP |
A stronger dollar can weaken commodity markets by cutting into the purchasing power of buyers using other currencies.
Signs of a potential rebound in the economy lifted crude prices on Thursday to settle at the highest level since Oct. 20. The crisis has battered fuel demand and sent crude off record highs near $150 a barrel struck last year.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, further reduced its forecast for world oil consumption this year, but said the worst appeared to be over for the oil market.
"As the world economy stabilizes, the world oil demand appears to be settling down," OPEC said in its Monthly Oil Market Report. "There are no significant downward revisions to our previous oil demand forecasts."
Earlier this week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency slightly raised their demand estimates after months of downward revisions.
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No. 2 oil consumer China saw industrial growth and retail sales rebound in May, after U.S. data on Thursday showed an increase in retail sales and a slowdown in weekly jobless claims.
China's refinery output also gained in May, up 10.7 percent versus a year earlier — the third monthly rise in seven months.
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