Up-and-Down Oil Futures Prices End Week Strong

Oil futures prices ended a volatile week on a strong note Friday.

“The market closed at one of its highest levels in a long time,” said Richard Redoglia, a trader with Merrill Lynch Energy Futures.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the January contract for West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark grade of U.S. crude, settled 40 cents higher at $15.84 cents a barrel, after falling 30 cents on Thursday during a technical sell-off. The contract had been up and down throughout the week.

Other contract months also gained ground Friday.

Among refined petroleum products traded on the exchange, the January contract for wholesale home heating oil closed 1.42 cents higher at 49.50 cents a gallon. The contract had fallen 0.81 cent on Thursday.

Traders said seasonal demand was responsible for the sharp price increase.

January unleaded gasoline, which gained 0.17 cent in the previous session, settled at 44.46 cents a gallon, up 0.53 cent.

Redoglia said there was “no real news, no real fundamental reason” for Friday’s rally.

“Except there’s a feeling the market can work higher if OPEC sticks to its quotas,” he said.

In late November, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reached a production agreement aimed at propping up sagging worldwide oil prices. The agreement included new quotas for each of the cartel’s 13 members.