Crude Settles Below $95
NEW YORK--U.S. crude futures fell as workers began to return to oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and investors awaited remarks Friday from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.</br></br>Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled 87 cents, or 0.9%, lower at $94.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement in two weeks. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for October delivery traded 29 cents higher at $112.83 a barrel.</br></br>Oil prices took their cues from the stock market and a rising U.S. dollar Thursday as traders' focus turned from oil-production outages due to Hurricane Isaac and toward the broader economy.</br></br>"Higher crude-oil needs a strong stock market and a weak U.S. dollar and you have the reverse today," said Walter Zimmermann, an analyst at brokerage United-ICAP.</br></br>The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.6% at 13029 in late-afternoon trade.