Crude Futures Retreat, Doubts Stir Over Direction

摘要

Crude futures gave back gains from the two previous sessions on Thursday. The losses were partially pinned on renewed strength in the dollar. Oil's range-bound movement over the past few weeks has created uncertainty about the direction futures prices will take in the near term. The US dollar was given a boost versus a basket of foreign currencies after the Federal Reserve announced an end to its six-year-long quantitative easing program and signaled a less pessimistic outlook on US economic growth. Some pointed to the gains in the dollar as a weakening factor for crude, partly because a stronger greenback makes oil more expensive in other currencies.