Oil prices changed course and fell Friday after initially getting a boost from an EU agreement to help Greece reduce its massive debt mountain that translated into a weaker dollar. The benchmark crude for May delivery fell 53 cents to settle at $80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as high as $81.46 earlier in the day. Crude has meandered in the low $80s for about the last two weeks as investors look for signs global oil demand is growing. Plentiful supplies and soft demand have kept prices more or less stagnant for months, but that could change as the economic recovery picks up. “Overall, US oil demand is definitely improving, laying the foundations for a broad-based recovery ...notwithstanding the weakness in Europe,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “Thus, we continue to see oil prices consolidating in the current $75 to $85 range and on course to gradually move higher to $80 to $90.” Meanwhile, gold led metals prices higher Friday as the dollar grew weaker against other currencies after European leaders put a plan in place to help Greece with its financial problems. Metals prices also benefited from a government report showing the US economy grew at a 5.6 percent pace in the October-to-December quarter. Gold and other commodities often trade in the opposite direction of the dollar. Gold for June delivery rose $11.30 to settle at $1,105.40 an ounce. In May contracts, silver rose 16.5 cents to $16.906 an ounce and copper rose 2.25 cents to $3.403 a pound. Grains were mixed. Wheat for May delivery fell 1.75 cents to settle at $4.6475 a bushel. Soybeans for May delivery rose 9.5 cents to $9.52 a bushel and corn rose 1.25 cents to $3.5625 a bushel.
