Oil prices retreat on eased Syria concerns

Oil prices went down Friday as market concerns seemed to be fading away about an imminent military strike against the Syrian government. U.S. President Obama said Friday he has not made final decision yet and Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. has "high confidence" that the Syrian government used the weaponry but he also said that a U.S. action would be limited in scope. The U.K. Parliament on Thursday rejected a proposal by Prime Minister David Cameron to join a military action against Syria. The possibility of a military strike against the Syrian government triggered concerns over oil supplies in the Middle East, where one-third of world's crude is pumped, and drove oil prices higher for the whole week. U.S. economic data released on Friday were generally soft. Personal income edged up 0.1 percent in July, following a 0.3- percent increase in June, the U.S. Commerce Department said. U.S. consumer sentiment fell in August from a six-year high in the prior month. The final reading of the consumer sentiment index stood at 82.1 in August, according to a joint survey released Friday by Thomson Reuters and University of Michigan. Moreover, the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index, considered as a leading indicator of the U.S. economy, increased to 53.0 in August from 52.3 in July, the Institute for Supply Management - Chicago said Friday. Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 1.15 dollars to settle at 107.65 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for October delivery dropped 1.15 dollars to close at 114.01 dollars a barrel.