Investing.com - Crude oil futures fell in U.S. trade Friday, as a rising U.S. dollar combined with slumping shares on Wall Street raised concerns about stagnant economic growth in the world’s largest energy consumer.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for October delivery traded at USD86.72 a barrel during afternoon U.S. trade, falling 2.62%, after hitting a daily high of USD89.50.
U.S. and European stock markets sank in Friday trade, following the announced resignation of European Central Bank Governing Council member Juergen Stark, who was reportedly opposed to a resumption of a bond-buying program by the central bank.
Stark’s resignation helped to reignite fears over European sovereign debt and the ECB’s efforts to expand the European Financial Stability Facility, a rescue fund for debt threatened euro-zone members.
In afternoon trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.72%, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 2.48%, and the S&P 500 declined 2.63%.
European shares settled lower by the end of Friday’s session with the STOXX 50 Index slumping 4.15% to 2,073.67, France’s CAC fell 3.6% to 2,974.59, Britain’s FTSE gave up 2.35% to 5,214.65, and Germany’s DAX surrendered 4.04% to close at 5,189.93.
Meanwhile, G-7 officials met in Marseille, France to discuss European debt as well as recent moves by Japan and Swiss national banks to curb growth of their currencies.
A rising U.S. dollar helped to drag down oil futures, as dollar-denominated futures contracts tend to fall when the dollar rises.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained 1.06% to 77.15.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for October delivery retreated 1.27% to trade at USD112.83.