Crude Ekes Out A Gain Ahead Of Long Weekend

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)

Oil futures eked out a gain Friday, as traders remained wary of staking out large positions following inconclusive talks with Iran and a long weekend in the U.S.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery settled 20 cents, or 0.2%, higher at $90.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled 28 cents higher, or 0.3%, to $106.83 a barrel.

Futures squeezed out a modest gain after spending most of the session little changed, with trading light ahead of the long Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. A two-day meeting in Baghdad between Iran and major world powers over Tehran's nuclear program produced no breakthroughs, although additional talks are scheduled in Moscow next month.

With few developments out of Iran and the market awaiting additional news on the fate of the euro zone, prices have likely found a new trading range between $85 and $95 a barrel, said Rich Rafferty, oil broker at Penson Futures.

"I think you'll see a little consolidation from here on out," he said. "But you still have the European concern and the fear that Greece goes down, which they probably will."

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