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Crude Oil fell slightly on Friday, plummeting to a four-month low, amid continuing fears of a glut of oversupply on the global energy markets. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil traded in a tight range between $50.16 and $51.23 a barrel, before settling at $50.88. Oil services firm Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) said in its weekly rig count on Friday that U.S. oil rigs last week declined by seven to 638. A week earlier, the rig count edged up by five to 645, marking the second consecutive week of weekly builds.
GOLD
Gold plummeted more than 1% on Friday to a five-year low, as optimistic U.S. inflation data bolstered hawkish arguments for an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve later this year. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold plunged more than $14 an ounce to an intraday low of $1,129 before inching back up to 1,132. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said its Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.3% in June on a monthly basis, in line with consensus estimates. On a year-over-year basis, the CPI gained 0.1% above analysts' forecasts for a flat reading.
