Crude Oil Prices Plummet Amid Profit-Taking and Looming Refinery Outages

Crude oil futures in New York plummeted on Friday, falling more than 40 cents as profit-taking and ample supplies countered the momentum from Thursday's rally. Despite reaching a session high of $16.20/bbl, the May New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) light, sweet crude futures settled at $15.46/bbl, a loss of 44 cents. The June Nymex contract, however, had a more moderate decline, ending the day at $15.91/bbl. Across the Atlantic, Brent prices dropped 28 cents to close at $14.36/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange.

Key Takeaways:

Crude oil prices in New York fell more than 40 cents on Friday due to profit-taking and ample supplies.
May Nymex light, sweet crude futures settled at $15.46/bbl, a loss of 44 cents, despite reaching a session high of $16.20/bbl.
The June Nymex contract had a more moderate decline, ending the day at $15.91/bbl.
Refinery outages and concerns over Iraq's oil production contributed to the weakness in crude prices.
Gasoline futures, however, still maintained support, with May gasoline gaining 2.2 cents on the week to settle at 52.48 cents/gallon.
Sun Refining and Marketing's Philadelphia complex postponed the restart of a downed 68,000 b/d catalytic cracker until early this week, contributing to supportive news for gasoline prices.
May Nymex heating oil lost 0.84 cents to close at 43.76 cents/gallon, but gained 0.43 cents on the week.

Statistics:

Crude oil prices fell 44 cents in the May Nymex trade.
The June Nymex contract ended Friday at $15.91/bbl, down 33 cents on the day.
May gasoline futures gained 2.2 cents on the week to settle at 52.48 cents/gallon.
May Nymex heating oil lost 0.84 cents to close at 43.76 cents/gallon.
Crude oil prices fell 10 cents on the week.
Brent prices dropped 28 cents to close at $14.36/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange.

Sources:

"Crude futures plummet; profits taken" by MarketWatch.
"Crude oil prices fall Friday" by CNBC.