Oil Climbs Above $88, But Weekly Losses In Store

Benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures rose in electronic trade Friday, but the market will likely end with weekly losses on demand and global growth concerns.

May crude oil  rose 75 cents, or 0.9%, to $88.48 a barrel during Asian trading hours, adding to their 1.2% gain on Thursday.

Oil prices were on track to fall more than 3% this week, which started with a selloff as weaker-than-anticipated quarterly economic growth and monthly industrial production numbers from China added to worries about global demand for oil. The selloff was part of a broader slide in commodities.

U.S. crude inventories remain high, though the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported an unexpected decline of 1.2 million barrels in stockpiles.

A weekly loss for crude would mark its third consecutive week of declines.

Meanwhile, natural gas for May delivery   rose 1 cent, or 0.2%, to $4.41 per million British thermal units. Natural gas in the previous session rallied 4.4%, with a smaller-than-expected increase in weekly U.S. supplies lifting prices to a 21-month high.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said natural-gas stocks rose 31 billion cubic feet for the week ended April 12. Analysts surveyed by Platts had expected to see a bigger climb of between 33 billion cubic feet and 37 billion cubic feet in supplies.

In other Friday action in the energy complex, May gasoline rose 11 cents, or 0.5%, to $2.768 a gallon, and May heating oil  advanced 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $2.77 a gallon.

Marketwatch