Oil futures post a loss for the week on demand concerns

Oil futures settled lower on Friday, contributing to a loss for the week. Market bears are concerned that “oil demand may not persist amidst the cloudy macro-economic environment,” said Manish Raj, chief financial officer at Velandera Energy Partners. “On the one hand we have [a] potential GDP slowdown due to rising interest rates and on the other hand, we are facing demand destruction due to high energy prices.” West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell $1.72, or 1.7%, to settle at $102.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices for the front-month contract down 4.1% for the week.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.