Price action was choppy throughout the session, but in the end, oil was unable to sustain a bounce.

Meanwhile, the ICE U.S. dollar index continued to climb, rising 0.9% Friday to its highest level in nearly nine years. The dollar’s strength is seen as a negative for commodities priced in dollars by making them more expensive to users of other currencies. “It seems oil cares more about oversupply and the value of the dollar then Iran and their complaints” to Saudi Arabia over the plunge in oil prices, Flynn said, in a note. Flynn was referring to signs of discord within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister told Reuters that Saudi Arabia’s inaction over a six-month slide in oil prices was a strategic mistake. Many oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and companies like Royal Dutch Shell PLC  have said in the past that $100 a barrel is an optimum level for oil. For several oil-exporting countries like Iran, Nigeria, Russia and even Saudi Arabia, government budgets and petrodollar revenues are being threatened by current oil prices, and analysts say price levels are unlikely to recover to $100 in 2015.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blend stock for February the benchmark gasoline contract, fell by more than 3 cents to $1.4392. February natural gas futures rose 10 cents, or 3.5%, to to $2.989 per million British thermal units.