Oil rises as weaker dollar, recovery signs spur gain

Futures are heading for a 4.1 percent gain this week before an October report forecast to show that the U.S. lost the fewest jobs in more than a year. European equities advanced a third day. U.S. crude-oil stockpiles fell twice as much as analysts predicted last week, a Nov. 4 Energy Department showed.

“The expectation that we will see some stabilization in the world economy is already priced in,” said Thina Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Bank AB in Oslo. “We'll see this range between US$70 and US$80 for the rest of the year, especially as the dollar is likely to stay weak going forward.” Crude oil for December delivery rose as much as 72 cents, or 0.9 percent, to US$80.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at US$79.93 a barrel at 11:10 a.m. London time. Futures have advanced 80 percent this year.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell 3.94 million barrels last week, more than reversing inventory gains made over the previous three weeks, the Energy Department said Nov. 4. An increase of 1.5 million barrels was forecast, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts.

Oil analysts and traders were split over whether crude oil prices will rise or fall next week, as investors focus on a weak dollar and ample product stockpiles.

Brent crude oil for December settlement rose as much as 82 cents, or 1.1 percent, to US$78.81 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract was at US$78.41 a barrel at 11:10 a.m. in London.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos Respond to this email