U.S. stocks closed slightly lower Friday as investors digested Federal Reserve (Fed) officials' remarks on monetary policy and falling oil prices. In U.S. economic news, Kansas City Fed President Esther George said in a speech that the U.S. economy would benefit from the central bank raising rates sooner rather than later. Earlier, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said that he is leaning towards supporting a rate hike next month and argued Friday that the real question now is the Fed's rate path in 2017. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan reiterated that he thinks it is nearly time for the Fed to raise interest rates. The dollar trader higher against a basket of currencies. Light sweet crude oil for December delivery fell 0.59 percent to $45.69 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures lost $8.20 to $1,208.70 per ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 35.82, or 0.19 percent, to 18,868.00. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 5.22, or 0.24 percent, to 2,181.90. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index decreased 12.46, or 0.23 percent, to 5,321.51.