Investing.com -
Investing.com - New York-traded crude oil futures ended Friday's session close to a two-week low, as data showed that U.S. consumer spending declined in April, providing more evidence of an uneven economic recovery.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude oil for delivery in July fell to a daily low of $102.40 a barrel, the weakest since May 20, before subsequently settling at $102.71 by close of trade, down 0.84%, or 87 cents.
For the week, Nymex oil lost 1.57%, or $1.64 a barrel, the first weekly decline in three weeks. Prices rose 3% in May.
Oil futures were likely to find support at $101.69 a barrel, the low from May 20 and resistance at $103.94 a barrel, the high from May 29.
Data released Friday showed that U.S. consumer spending fell 0.1% in April from a month earlier, missing forecasts for a 0.2% increase. Personal income rose 0.3%, in line with forecasts.
Separately, the final reading of the University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index for May came in at 81.9, up slightly from a preliminary reading of 81.8, but falling short of forecasts for 82.5.
Meanwhile, bearish supply data released on Thursday continued to weigh. U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels to hit a total of 393.0 million last week. Analysts had expected supplies to increase by 0.5 million barrels.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking to Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for May for further indications on the strength of the labor market.
Nymex oil prices have been well-supported in recent weeks amid indications the U.S. economy is shaking off the effects of a weather-related slowdown over the winter.
While data released Thursday showed that the U.S. economy contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1% in the first quarter, market analysts expects second quarter growth to snap back with a 3.8% gain.
Data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed that hedge funds and money managers increased their bullish bets in New York-traded oil futures in the week ending May 27.
Net longs totaled 348,069 contracts as of last week, up 6.9% from net longs of 323,993 in the preceding week.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for July delivery shed 0.51%, or 56 cents, on Friday to settle at $109.41 a barrel by close of trade.
The July Brent contract lost 1.02% or $1.13 a barrel, on the week as receding concerns over tensions between Ukraine and Russia eased worries over a disruption to global supplies.
Russia produced 10.4 million barrels of oil per day in 2012 and exported 7.4 million, making it the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile the spread between the Brent and the WTI crude contracts stood at $6.70 a barrel by close of trade on Friday, compared to $6.19 in the preceding week.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.