February 26, 2006	Sunday	Muharram 27, 1427

NEW YORK, Feb 25: Wall Street struggled on Friday as investors were rattled by a jump in oil prices following a report of an explosion at a Saudi oil refinery.

At 1625 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 36.34 points (0.33 Per cent) at 11,032.88, while the Nasdaq dropped 1.98 points (0.09 per cent) to 2,277.34.

The broad-market Standard and Poor’s 500 index was essentially flat, gaining a fractional 0.05 point to 1,287.84.

Crude oil futures jumped more than three per cent on a report of an explosion at a Saudi oil refinery, adding to concerns on oil producers Iraq and Nigeria. At 1610 GMT, New York futures were up 2.06 dollars at 62.60 dollars per barrel.

Oil is apt to remain in focus as supply concerns continue to trouble the market, analysts at Briefing.com wrote. The Saudi development adds to the geopolitical tensions that have been recently related to Nigeria.

Paul Nolte, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates, predicted the market will have difficulty getting out of its trading range in the near term.

There are still a lot of cross currents in the market, Nolte said. We have higher oil prices. But we also have an economy that seems to be doing OK, ... not terrific.

A report early Friday showed a 10.2 per cent plunge in orders for US-made durable goods. But analysts said the report was skewed by a 68 per cent drop in aircraft orders, which can be volatile. Excluding that, orders were up 0.6pc for the month and 6.5 per cent year over year.

The sky isn’t falling, just new non-defense aircraft orders, said Jason Schenker at Wachovia Securities.

Among active shares, Time Warner fell 15 cents to 17.17 after the media-entertainment giant said CNN founder Ted Turner would leave its board of directors.

Intel dropped a penny to 20.28, after getting a downgrade and a price target cut from Friedman Billings Ramsey.—AFP