LONDON: Oil prices were mixed on Friday as traders digested initially better-than-expected, but finally ambiguous growth data from top global crude consumer the United States.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December gained 32 cents to $108.81 a barrel in late London trade.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December lost 24 cents to $85.81 a barrel.
"In the afternoon we saw the eagerly anticipated US GDP number. This showed an annualised expansion rate of 2.0 percent last quarter which was more than expected, so the markets rallied initially," said Fawad Razaqzada, an analyst at GFT Markets.
"However the bounce was short-lived once investors realised growth in the previous quarter was revised lower and as consumer confidence came in a touch weaker than expected. The volatile price action left crude oil mixed with Brent up and WTI down slightly as we approached the London close," he added.
Traders had feared that the growth figures would miss expectations of 1.6-percent growth for the third quarter following weak corporate reports from major US firms including Google, IBM and McDonald's over the past few days.
But data released on Thursday nonetheless provided some cheer. The US Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 23,000 to 369,000 in the week ending October 20. That was better than the average estimate of 375,000.
And durable goods orders also rose 9.9 percent from August, well above the average forecast of 8.0 percent.
The oil market sank this week, buckling under pressure from a stream of poor US company results and ongoing concerns over the impact of the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.
"Crude oil prices continue to remain under pressure, following the recent disappointing US earnings results and the tentative economic conditions in Greece and Spain," said Sucden Financial Research analyst Myrto Sokou.
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