Oil prices stabilize after Yellen's dovish testimony

Oil prices steadied Friday as Federal Reserve chair nominee Yellen's optimistic remarks countered rising U.S. supplies. Yellen testified in her confirmation hearing Thursday that the central bank needs to do more to bolster the economic recovery. Traders welcomed Yellen's testimony as a positive sign that the central bank is not in a hurry to trim its asset purchases. The upbeat sentiment over a continuation of the easy money policy offset concerns over rising U.S. stockpiles. The Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department's statistical arm, said in a report on Wednesday that U.S. crude stockpiles added 2.6 million barrels to 388.1 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 2, beating market expectation of a 1.8 million barrels rise. On the economic front, manufacturing activity in the New York region fell to minus 2.2 in November, its first negative reading since May, according to a survey released Friday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. U.S. import and export prices both declined in October, the Labor Department reported. Data showed import prices declined 0.7 percent in October led by lower fuel prices, while export prices fell 0.5 percent. Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 8 cents to settle at 93.84 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery climbed 22 cents to close at 108.54 dollars a barrel.