Oil prices fell marginally on Thursday, in a fourth straight session of losses, as weak US economic signals and high inventories spurred fears of a sluggish rebound in demand in the world's largest energy consumer. US retail sales fell 0.3 percent last month, the first decline in three months, according to the Commerce Department, while Labor Department data showed more people sought jobless benefits last week. US crude for February delivery fell 26 cents to settle at $79.39 a barrel in volatile trade as February crude options expired. An option gives an investor the right but not the obligation to buy or sell crude at a fixed price, which can add to volatility ahead of option expiration. In London, Brent crude for February, which expired on Thursday, fell 49 cents to settle at $77.82 a barrel. “Crude futures are down in follow-through selling after yesterday's EIA data showed very large builds in petroleum inventories. Data on retail sales have been disappointing also,” said Brad Samples, analyst at Summit Energy, Louisville, Kentucky The Commodity Futures Trading Commission moved to limit the role of big traders in energy markets, unveiling proposals to put a hard cap on the size of positions that dealers can hold, but offering a limited exemption for big financial hedgers. The long-awaited proposals will apply to the four most-traded energy contracts on the two major exchanges. It remains to be seen if the limits - which CFTC said would affect only the 10 biggest position holders if implemented immediately - are sufficient to satisfy Congress members who have clamored for regulatory action since oil prices surged to a record $147 in 2008. Crude prices briefly rose into the positive after the release. “The energy markets are breathing a sigh of relief that the CFTC proposals on position limits do not seem as bad as feared,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago. US crude oil stocks rose by a larger-than-expected 3.7 million barrels last week, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday. And while heating oil stocks fell by 1.1 million barrels, stocks for the broader category known as distillates still rose by 1.4 million barrels.
