Summary Oil finished the week with a gain as traders took their cue from rising stock markets.
NEW YORK (AP) - Oil finished the week with a gain as traders took their cue from rising stock markets while watching developments in the financial crisis in Cyprus.
Benchmark oil for May delivery rose $1.26, or 1.4 percent, to close at $93.71 a barrel. Most of that gain came Friday afternoon, allowing oil to post a small increase for the week.
The potential for a financial collapse in the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus has hung over both the stock and oil markets all week. On Friday, the Standard & Poor s 500 index rose 0.7 percent as U.S. stock investors took advantage of this week s declines and got back into the market. Oil traders did likewise, erasing a loss from the day before.
Cypriot lawmakers were finalizing a new plan they hope will raise enough money to qualify the country for a bailout package and help it avoid financial ruin next week.
But there has been no indication it will be enough to satisfy the country s prospective creditors, its fellow eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.
Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, fell 23 cents to settle at $107.24 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
