U.S. crude oil price went down slightly Friday as U.S. new home sales cooled in December.

The U.S. crude markets got pressured after the Commerce Department said the new home sales retreated from the nearly 3- year high in November to plunge 7.3 percent in December.

The high crude inventories also kept weighing on the markets. The Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday U.S. oil stocks increased 2.8 million barrels in the week ending Jan.18, more than analysts had expected. That pushed oil stocks to 363.1 million barrels, 8.5 percent more than the level a year before.

The news that Enterprise Product Partners said it had no timeline for restoring full flows of Seaway pipeline, which takes crude from Cushing, Oklahoma , to the Gulf Coast, also annoyed the investors, as lower flows with the pipeline mean higher inventories at Cushing, the delivery point of U.S. crude contract.

But the losses were pared off by optimism about U.S. and China' s economic situation. A weaker dollar also helped offer a floor under the oil prices.

To add to the supporting factors, Germany's Ifo index of business confidence rose to 104.2 in January from 102.4 in December, topping analysts' forecast of 103. The fresh figure marks the highest level in seven months, indicating a rosier economic outlook of the European powerhouse.

In the Middle East, the main oil exporting region for the world, tensions tended to escalate as protests broke out in Egypt and fears of oil field attacks worsened in Libya.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost 7 cents, or 0.07 percent, to settle at 95.88 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, it inched up 32 cents, or 0.33 percent.

Brent crude for March delivery ended flat at 113.28 dollars a barrel, posting a weekly gain of 1.39 dollars, or 1.24 percent.