Oil prices fell Friday as traders worried by the approach of the U.S. summer driving and Atlantic hurricane seasons sold contracts ahead of a long weekend in the United States.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 22 cents to $71.58 a barrel in electronic trading by afternoon in Europe. July Brent crude at London’s ICE Futures exchange lost 16 cents to $70.55 a barrel.
The market in New York closes early Friday and will be shut Monday in observance of Memorial Day, the unofficial start of the summer driving season, when gasoline demand peaks.
