Brent crude shares fall for second day

New York: Brent crude futures fell sharply on Friday as Europe’s debt problems helped the dollar index rebound, extending losses into a second day after consuming nations announced they were tapping strategic reserves.

Better-than-expected US durable goods data provided a brief lift to US crude futures but concerns about eurozone debt problems continued to weigh on markets.

“The strengthening of the dollar index is helping pressure oil and we’re seeing an unwinding of the Brent-WTI spread because of the release of the strategic reserves,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.