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The U.S. dollar index posted a monthly gain after spending much of February in consolidation mode as investors await further signals on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate increase move.
The euro EURUSD, -0.02% traded at $1.1197, little changed from its level in late North American trade on Thursday.
The dollar was at ¥119.63 compared with USDJPY, +0.18% ¥119.49 late Thursday in New York.
The lira USDTRY, +0.12% traded at a rate of 2.5087 per dollar in recent action and traded at 2.5248 per dollar in earlier action, breaching the previous all-time low set on Feb. 11, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ Dollar Index BUXX, +0.04% a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.03 point at 85.89.
April natural gas NGJ15, +0.48% added 3.7 cents, or 1.4%, to $2.734 per million British thermal units, up 1.6% for the month.
March heating oil HOH5, +2.68% rallied, settling up 16.3 cents, or 7.6%, at $2.299 a gallon—up roughly 36% for the month, driven by weather-related demand.
March futures contracts for gasoline and heating oil expired at the close Friday. March gasoline RBH5, +3.85% rose 6 cents, or 3.5%, to $1.768 a gallon. Prices were up a whopping 25% for the month.
After posting declines over the past seven months, crude-oil futures rebounded, with Brent crude scoring its biggest monthly percentage climb in nearly six years.
Crude for April delivery CLJ5, +2.80% rose $1.59, or 3.3%, to settle at $49.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices for the month, based on the front-month contracts, climbed 3.2%. For the week, they were down 2.1%.
April Brent crude LCOJ5, +4.05% on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $2.53, or 4.2%, to end Friday’s session at $62.58 a barrel.
