Crude rallies but ends week down

US crude climbed less than a dollar but still finished down more than 2 percent for the week, marking the first time the benchmark has fallen for six straight weeks since December 1998.

The rally was driven in part by geopolitical tremors in Ukraine and the dollar backing off of its four-year high, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures settled up 53 cents at $83.39 per barrel but declined nearly 3 percent for the week, the seventh straight week down.

The last time Brent fell for seven straight weeks ended in November 2002. The benchmark hit a four-year intraday low of $81.63, down from a high above $115 in June. US crude settled up 74 cents per barrel for the day at $78.65.

The dollar helped drive both the daily gains and the weekly losses, as it retreated from its strongest level against a basket of foreign currencies in over four years. A strong dollar stunts the price of dollar-denominated oil benchmarks.

The Ukrainian military accused Russia of sending 32 tanks and truckloads of troops across the border, which if true would signal an end to the lull in violence between the two countries. Renewed fighting in the region could disrupt oil flows, throttle supply, and drive worldwide prices up.

However, some traders are sceptical that another flaring of violence in the region could affect supply and prices.

Increasing supplies of crude oil from North American shale formations have weighed heavily on prices this year, creating a glut in world markets and decreasing demand for oil from OPEC.

OPEC forecast that its market share would be 5 percent smaller by 2018 as shale supplies continued to increase faster than demand.

But OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said the 12-member cartel, which pumps a third of the world’s oil, was not panicking and thought prices would recover next year.

OPEC ministers will meet in Vienna on 27 November to discuss how to react to falling oil prices and could decide to trim production.