Refiner margins up to more than $30 per barrel

Crude oil prices were mixed on Friday after Brent crude dropped back below the $70 per barrel level, an eight-month high it reached on Thursday. In late afternoon trade on the Intercontinental Exchange in London on Friday, July contracts for Brent was 83 cents lower to $69.45 per barrel. That left it still nearly 4 percent higher on the week. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was up 26 cents to $65.12 per barrel by early afternoon on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The gains in US prices came on announcements this week from three refineries that they were being forced to implement temporary shutdowns due to maintenance and technical problems. June Nymex gasoline traded steady on Friday afternoon at $2.4354 per gallon, up more than 3 percent over the week. The gains took refiner margins to over $30 per barrel.