Crude Oil Ends Lower As Dollar Strengthens

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil ended lower on Friday, after the dollar continued to strengthen on some upbeat data from the U.S. and the Bank of Japan's decision to extend its monetary stimulus, drove up demand for the greenback.

A strong dollar makes it less attractive for buyers of dollar-priced commodities such as oil, as it makes them expensive to holders of other currencies.

The Bank of Japan's surprise decision to extend monetary stimulus has prompted investors to seek riskier assets. The Japanese central bank expanded its massive quantitative and qualitative easing unexpectedly as policymakers deemed it necessary to achieve the 2 percent inflation target even after a sales tax hike in April.

From the U.S., consumer sentiment in the country improved more than previously estimated in October, a Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan report showed Friday. Meanwhile, Business activity in the Chicago area unexpectedly increased at a notably faster rate in October, to its highest level in a year,

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $0.58 or 0.7 percent to close at $80.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.

Crude prices for December delivery scaled a high of $81.27 a barrel intraday and a low of $79.55.

On Thursday, crude oil futures ended 1.3 percent down as the dollar rose against some major currencies on the back of a report showing U.S. GDP to have risen more than expected in the third quarter.

Data showing a smaller than expected increase in crude oil inventories last week failed to support crude as worries about excess supply grew after a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that oil production rose to nearly 9 billion barrels a day -- the most in over three decades.

Earlier on Wednesday the Federal Reserve announced the end of its monthly asset buying program, while indicating interest rates may remain near record lows for a "considerable time." However, the Fed said rate hikes may happen sooner than markets expect if the economic recovery continues to gather steam.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 86.81 on Friday, up from its previous close of 86.17 late Thursday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 87.13 intraday and a low of 86.15.

The euro trended lower against the dollar at $1.2537 on Friday, as compared to its previous close of $1.2615 late Thursday in North American trade. The euro scaled a high of $1.2617 intraday and a low of $1.2488.

In economic news from the U.S., a report from the Commerce Department showed personal spending to have unexpectedly decreased in the month of September, dipping by 0.2 percent, after climbing by 0.5 percent in August.

Additionally, the Commerce Department said personal income edged up by a lower than expected 0.2 percent in September following a 0.3 percent increase in the previous month.

Consumer sentiment in the U.S. improved more than previously estimated in October, a report from Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan showed Friday. The final reading on the consumer sentiment index for October came in at 86.9 compared to the mid-month reading of 86.4. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.

With the unexpected upward revision, the index rose from the final September reading of 84.6 to reach its highest level since July of 2007.

Business activity in the Chicago area unexpectedly increased at a notably faster rate in October to its highest level in a year, a report from MNI Indicators said Friday. The Chicago business barometer jumped to 66.2 in October from 60.5 in September, with a reading above 50 indicating an increase in regional business activity. Economists expected the barometer to dip to a reading of 60.0.

Eurozone inflation rose slightly in October but it remained consistently below 1 percent, signifying the risk of deflation in the currency bloc. At the same time, the unemployment rate held steady at an elevated level in September.

Eurozone inflation rose marginally to 0.4 percent in October from 0.3 percent in September, flash data from Eurostat showed Friday. It has been below the 2 percent ceiling since February 2013. Core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, slowed to 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent a month ago. It was forecast to remain unchanged at 0.8 percent.

The Bank of Japan on Friday, decided to lift the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 80 trillion. The earlier plan was to increase it by about JPY 60-70 trillion. The bank will lift its purchases of Japanese government bond purchases so that the outstanding amount will rise by around JPY 80 trillion compared to the earlier target of JPY 50 trillion.

Russia's central bank lifted its key rate sharply by a bigger-than-expected 150 basis points to counteract the slide in ruble and rising inflation. The Bank of Russia decided on Friday to raise its key rate to 9.50 percent from 8 percent. The bank was expected to hike its rate by 50 basis points. This was the fourth interest rate increase this year.