Oil closes lower, to $ 83 a barrel

The benchmark crude for May delivery fell $ 2.27 to settle at $ 83.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. During the day, oil had fallen to the $ 82.52 a barrel.

In London, Brent crude fell $ 1.60 to $ 85.99 a barrel on the market ICE Futures.

The Securities and Exchange Commission noted that Goldman Sachs Co. disappointed investors by not disclosing important information about who sold investments in mortgages when the housing market collapsed in 2008.

Previously, the Commerce Department reported that housing construction in March reached its highest increase in 16 months, but decreased that of unit-family homes, the most important segment market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average had declined also due to sales of shares by investors to the news about Goldman. Shares of Goldman fell almost 13%.

The disappointment of investors to earnings reports from General Electric and Bank of America also helped the Dow fall back toward the 11,000 mark points which had risen earlier in the week.

Oil Speculators believe the stock market always an indicator of investor sentiment.

Who is investing raw examines economic conditions in general to decide on their transactions, said analyst Phil Flynn, of the consulting PFGBest.

The dollar has strengthened as crude oil prices have weakened because of the recurring concerns to the debt of Greece, said the expert.

Oil prices have remained in the range of $ 80 a barrel from which rose 25% for two months exceeded $ 87 last week.

In other contract transactions May heating oil fell 3.54 cents to $ 2.2169 a gallon (3.79 liters ) gasoline fell 4.92 cents to $ 2.2770 a gallon, and natural gas rose 5.4 cents to 4.039 per 1,000 cubic meters.