Crude oil up 6 percent this week, down 13 percent in May

 

The price of crude oil was lower Friday after rising earlier, to end a week that saw prices rise more than 6 percent during the week, declining as Fitch Ratings said it had downgraded Spain’s debt rating on concerns that economic growth will slow there.

Despite gains this week, May will likely end with prices for crude oil at least 13 percent lower than they were when the month began.

July contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down 76 cents to $73.79 per barrel in afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude was last reported 79 cents lower to $73.87 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

www.oilmarketer.co.uk