Crude-oil futures fell in Asian trading Friday after an initial bounce-back earlier in the day faltered, leaving the market divided on whether yesterday's selloff would continue.
Crude futures lost nearly $10 overnight amid a massive selloff in commodities but recovered early Friday, gaining more than $1, in what analysts said was an expected technical pullback driven by bargain hunting.
Nymex crude turned negative shortly before 0630 GMT followed by a similar move on ICE Brent despite a weaker U.S. dollar against the euro, which typically supports higher oil prices.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at $98.93 a barrel at 0730 GMT, down $0.87 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.48 to $110.32 a barrel.
Weak U.S. employment data and a stronger dollar following the European Central Bank's decision to keep interest rates unchanged initially sparked a massive selloff Thursday in oil futures, which were already pressured by a bearish U.S. crude inventory report earlier this week.
"This week's selloff now appears more than corrective in our view, and virtually removes the possibility of fresh price highs for at least a couple of months, unless a major exogenous event develops," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates.
"A more likely course of trade would appear to be another $5-$7 on the downside for both WTI and Brent in relatively short order as the large speculative community seeks to acquire a better balance within their energy positions to a rapidly changing risk environment."
Analysts said fundamentals appeared to be weaker but noted that crude prices have largely been driven by economic optimism and fund inflows.
And the market is still supported by supply-side issues due to current and possible production problems in the Middle East, as Libyan exports are still out of the market and concerns over the situation in Yemen are growing.
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for June--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 20 points to $3.0974 a gallon, while June heating oil traded at $2.8883, 14 points higher.
ICE gasoil for May changed hands at $914.25 a metric ton, down $24.00 from Thursday's settlement.
Crude futures lost nearly $10 overnight amid a massive selloff in commodities but recovered early Friday, gaining more than $1, in what analysts said was an expected technical pullback driven by bargain hunting.
Nymex crude turned negative shortly before 0630 GMT followed by a similar move on ICE Brent despite a weaker U.S. dollar against the euro, which typically supports higher oil prices.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at $98.93 a barrel at 0730 GMT, down $0.87 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.48 to $110.32 a barrel.
Weak U.S. employment data and a stronger dollar following the European Central Bank's decision to keep interest rates unchanged initially sparked a massive selloff Thursday in oil futures, which were already pressured by a bearish U.S. crude inventory report earlier this week.
"This week's selloff now appears more than corrective in our view, and virtually removes the possibility of fresh price highs for at least a couple of months, unless a major exogenous event develops," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates.
"A more likely course of trade would appear to be another $5-$7 on the downside for both WTI and Brent in relatively short order as the large speculative community seeks to acquire a better balance within their energy positions to a rapidly changing risk environment."
Analysts said fundamentals appeared to be weaker but noted that crude prices have largely been driven by economic optimism and fund inflows.
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for June--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 20 points to $3.0974 a gallon, while June heating oil traded at $2.8883, 14 points higher.
ICE gasoil for May changed hands at $914.25 a metric ton, down $24.00 from Thursday's settlement.
