WTI, Brent Prices Retract

Crude futures pulled back late on Friday, giving up gains from the previous session as trade concerns weighed on the market and fueled misgivings about demand. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 settled down 47 cents at $68.49 a barrel. Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $73.21 per barrel, down 24 cents from their last close, CNBC reported. Both grades briefly traded down more than $1 a barrel. US crude ended the week down 0.4%, while Brent has fallen 1.5% in the week so far. US nonfarm payrolls rose in July, but the US trade deficit recorded its biggest increase in more than 1-1/2 years in June, as the boost to exports from soybean shipments faded and higher oil prices lifted the import bill. The US Commerce Department said on Friday the trade gap surged 7.3% to $46.3 billion. Russian oil output rose by 150,000 barrels per day in July from a month earlier to 11.21 million bpd, helping the prices stay low.