MW: Crude edges down, extending Thursday's big drop
By MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures edged lower Friday, in line with slumping demand for other commodities as concerns about the global economy weigh on several asset classes.
After dropping by more than 2% a barrel on Thursday, oil futures fell a further 26 cents to $77.20 a barrel in electronic trading.
U.S. stocks also were pointing to a weak start to close the week -- a day largely devoid of any key economic or corporate reports. See full story.
"Capping the upside has been the potent combination of comfortable oil inventories and poor demand, while supporting the bottom end, has been the persistent weakness in the U.S. dollar," said Edward Meir, an analyst at MF Global.
Tracking the foreign-exchange trading, the dollar index (DXY 75.53, +0.24, +0.31%) rose 0.3%. Since oil is priced in dollars, any move lower for the greenback makes energy contracts cheaper for foreign investors.
During the week, oil has traded around a range of $76.50 and $80 a barrel.
