Oil Finishes Week Over $63 a Barrel

Oil rose more than $1 Friday and $4 for the week, topping $63 a barrel, Bloomberg reported.

Crude futures finished the trading week at $63.68 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following data that single-family housing starts jumped by 14% last month, Bloomberg said.

Gasoline wholesale prices rose a nickel Friday and China — the No. 2 consumer after the United States — refined a record amount of oil in June as faster economic growth boosted demand, Bloomberg reported.

Oil had been steadily declining from July 9 through Tuesday, but has increased for the past three trading days on the Nymex.

The Energy Department comes out with its weekly survey of diesel and gasoline prices Monday afternoon. Both fuels have declined for the past three weeks following several months of increases.