Oil Settles Lower, Down 4.9% On Week

Oil prices slumped on Friday, decling about 4.9% for the week, as better-than-expected monthly data on U.S. employment helped to strengthen the U.S. dollar. Oil futures failed to find support even after Baker Hughes reported a weekly fall in number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs. The market also saw little reaction following news of the U.S. government’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline project. December crude settled at $44.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 91 cents, or 2%, for the session. Based on the most-active contracts, that was the lower settlement since Oct. 27.