Oil prices were down for a third straight day on Friday, on track to their third weekly decline in four, as the dollar rallied on expectations of an interest rate hike before the year-end after strong US jobs growth in October. Brent and US crude futures headed for a weekly loss of more than 4 percent as the dollar added to the bearish sentiment in oil since Wednesday's government data showing a sixth weekly build in US crude stockpiles.
Up 5 percent since early October, the dollar hit 6-1/2-month highs against a basket of currencies after data showing the largest monthly growth in US jobs in almost a year. The spike in employment makes it more likely the US Federal Reserve will hike rates in December, further bolstering the dollar and making commodities denominated in the greenback less affordable to holders of other currencies.
"The jobs number may be strength for the US economy but it's being interpreted as weakness for oil," said Pete Donovan, broker at New York's Liquidity Energy. Brent, the global benchmark for oil, was down 50 cents, or 1 percent, at $47.48 a barrel by 1:17 pm EST (1817 GMT). It showed a loss of 4.2 percent on the week.
US crude slid 75 cents to $44.45. It was down 4.6 percent on the week. The market took in stride the US government's rejection of the long-debated Keystone XL oil pipeline project and the 10th weekly drop in the number of rigs drilling for crude across the country.
Calendar spreads in US crude were little changed after the Obama Administration rejected the proposed Canada to US Keystone XL pipeline project that has divided petroleum interests and environmentalists for over seven years. The discount between spot US crude and its nearest month remained above $1 a barrel, the widest since mid-May.
The difference was steady at above $6 for oil slated for delivery in December 2016 and above $9 for December 2017 crude. The discount, or "contango", comes as traders keep immediately available oil in storage to deliver later at better prices. On the oil rigs side, data from industry firm Baker Hughes showed six units being idled this week, bringing the number of remaining rigs to 572, the lowest since June 2010. While a falling rig count indicates potentially lower oil production - a bullish sign for crude prices - the market has been bogged down by worries of oversupply.Cameroon's oil output up by nearly a quarter in first half
YAOUNDE: Cameroon's first-half oil production rose by nearly a quarter accompanied by higher gas output, national hydrocarbons company SNH said Friday. The Central African country has been pumping oil since 1977, hitting a peak of 185,000 barrels per day (bpd) 10 years later before slipping.
Production rose to 16.44 million barrels in the first half of 2015, or about 91,000 bpd, up 23 percent from a year earlier. SNH did not give a reason for the higher production. It said oil sales increased, with Chad shipping its crude oil through the Chad-Cameroon pipeline since January. SNH's crude oil sales rose to 10.73 million barrels of oil, up by about 40 percent, although that may not account for the total sales out of Cameroon during that time period.
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