NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices settled 2% lower Friday amid ongoing concerns about weak energy demand and a third day of selloff in U.S. stock markets.
What prices are doing. Light, sweet crude oil for March delivery fell $1.54 to settle at $74.54 a barrel Friday.
Oil prices started the week strong, gaining 1% to settle above $79 on Tuesday. Monday the market was closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Prices settled 2% lower on Wednesday, Thursday and again on Friday, losing almost $4.50 as the stock market tumbled.
What's moving the market. Oil traders were looking to the stock market for direction, as U.S. stocks have fallen for three straight days. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 60 points, or 0.6% with 2-1/2 hours left in the session Friday. On Thursday, the stock market suffered its worst day in months.
Oil prices fell 2% in the previous session after the U.S. government reported a larger-than-expected rise in gasoline supplies.
The Energy Information Administration said Thursday that U.S. gasoline stocks jumped by 3.9 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 15. The gain was almost twice the 2.1-million-barrel rise analysts surveyed by research firm Platts were expecting.
The report raised concerns that oil prices could fall further as demand for gasoline remains weak.
"A bearish tone from the EIA report, released yesterday, extended concerns for the level of crude oil prices in the short term," Myrto Sokou, an energy analyst at Sucden Financial Research, wrote in a research report.
What analysts are saying. "Today, since it is a quiet day in economic figures, market participants will be watching the U.S. dollar movements and global equities for further signs of direction in the energy markets," Sokou said.
The dollar was down against the euro and the Japanese yen. It rose slightly, almost 0.5%, versus the U.K. pound. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.84% | 3.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
| Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
| S&P 500 | 3,913.10 | -2.36 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
| Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
| General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
| Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
|
Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More |
Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More |
Honda and General Motors are creating a new generation of fully autonomous vehicles. More |
In 1998, Ntsiki Biyela won a scholarship to study wine making. Now she's about to launch her own brand. More |
Whether you hedge inflation or look for a return that outpaces inflation, here's how to prepare. More |
