Oil Alert: Crude Retracts After Highs

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Crude prices on New York Mercantile Exchange were experiencing a Thursday afternoon siesta, a day after the price hit highs for the year.

Front-month crude on the NYMEX was moving lower by 81 cents at $80.56 a barrel on Thursday, as the dollar regained its footing. On Wednesday, oil settled at $81.37, after surging by $2.25, following a 14-month low for the greenback against the euro and coupled with better-than-expected stockpile news.

With earnings season underway, investor eyes have also been focused on a slew of oil-related earnings reports this week. Chief among them, on Thursday morning Occidental Petroleum(OXY Quote) reported a 59% drop in net income due to down prices compared to last year's halcyon highs. Yet, growing production helped the integrated operation beat the Wall Street consensus, with earnings per share landing at $1.14. Shares were moving higher in the afternoon, up $1.60, or 2%, at $83.15.

Diamond Offshore Drilling, which reported a 17% profit jump in the third quarter, was largely flat, gaining 3 cents at $105.91.

Offshore driller Ensco reported its quarterly efforts on Wednesday evening, beating analysts' estimates as earnings dropped to $1.05 per share. On Thursday, Ensco was watching its shares rise 90 cents, or 1.9%, at $48.44 at midday.

But much of the energy sector was being pulled down on Thursday, with stalwarts like Chevron(CVX Quote) and ConocoPhillips(COP Quote) bidding lower, down 0.5% and 1.1%, each. On the other hand, Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) shares were adding 58 cents, or 0.8%, at $73.89.

-- Written by Sung Moss in New York

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