Oil prices rise in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged up in tepid Asian trade Wednesday after recent falls caused by concerns about the US economic recovery, analysts said.

New York”s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, rose 10 cents to 72.08 dollars a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for August delivery gained 13 cents to 71.58 dollars.

Crude markets climbed in the wake of seven straight sessions of losses as wary traders bought up crude in a listless market, analysts said.

Oil Prices Higher in Asian Trade

SINGAPORE : Oil Prices Higher in Asian Trade, Oil was higher in Asian trade on Monday after falling at the end of last week in reaction to a surge in US unemployment figures, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, was up 81 cents to 78.24 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for December delivery gained 71 cents to 76.58 dollars.

Both contracts closed Friday lower after official data by the Labour Department showed the US unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent in October as 190,000 jobs were shed.

“I think it’s a bit of a surprise…. Most of the traders were expecting markets to fall to the 75, 76-dollar level,” said Jonathan Kornafel, Asian director of Hudson Capital Energy trading house.

He added that the price surge was due to “panic buying” by traders in a market lacking liquidity after the unemployment data.

The Labour Department report, seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum, showed a rise in the jobless rate, up from 9.8 percent in September, to the highest since 1983. But the number of jobs lost narrowed to the lowest level in more than one year.

The United States is the world’s biggest energy user and is seen as key to perking up oil demand, which has been hit by the global slump.

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Oil Prices Higher in Asian Trade was first posted on November 9, 2009 at 2:12 pm.

IMF chief to travel to Asia

WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said. The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on November 13 on “the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy,” she said.

WASHINGTON: International Monetary Fund Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said.

The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on November 13 on “the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy,” she said. Strauss-Kahn will visit China on November 16-17.

He will meet in Beijing with Chinese authorities to discuss “the international policy response to the crisis and prospects going forward and the role of Asia,” she said.

Oil rises above $80 amid stock market surge

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Friday in Asia as crude investors eyed a surge in global stock markets. Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 47 cents to $80.09 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Friday in Asia as crude investors eyed a surge in global stock markets.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 47 cents to $80.09 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 78 cents to settle at $79.62 on Thursday.

Oil traders often look to stock markets for a sense of overall investor sentiment, and the Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.1 percent Thursday on better-than -expected jobless claims numbers and positive forecasts by Cisco Systems Inc. All major Asia indexes were also up in early Friday trading.

Crude investors are also watching signs in recent weeks of a drop in U.S. oil supplies, which increased sharply this year as demand shrank. Some analysts forecast higher oil prices next year as the economy strengthens and demand recovers.

“We expect fundamentals to improve as oil demand growth resumes,” Morgan Stanley said in a report. “Until the oil market tightens, oil will be dragged in the wake of other risky asset price moves.”

Morgan Stanley said it expects oil to average $85 a barrel next year.

Crude has crisscrossed the $80 level for the last few weeks as investors mull weak U.S. consumer demand and a volatile dollar.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 1.16 cents to $2.07 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery gained 0.99 cent to $2.00 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery fell 1 cent to $4.78 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for December delivery rose 66 cents to $78.65 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil Rises In Asian Trade

SINGAPORE: Oil continued to firm in Asian trade on Friday with investor sentiment underpinned by a drop in US crude stocks and a weak greenback, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery was 20 cents higher at 72.14 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for October delivery gained 19 cents to 70.05 dollars a barrel.

The under-performing greenback, which fell to a new 2009 low against the euro Thursday, drove investors to dollar-priced commodities including oil which becomes cheaper for holders of other currencies.

“Investors’ increased appetite for risk has clearly taken its toll on the dollar since the spring,” said analysts from London-based Capital Economics Consultancy.

“This week it touched a new low for the year against the euro,” they said.

The euro breached 1.46 dollars on Thursday, hitting a nine-month high of 1.4613 dollars as risk appetite increased, which typically leads to a weakened greenback.

During economic uncertainty, investors turn to the US dollar for its safe haven status but when sentiment improves, they usually favour other high-yielding assets.

A weekly US government report that showed crude stocks fell by 5.9 million barrels last week, nearly four times more than expected, gave partial support to prices.

“That’s very bullish because the biggest weakness in the global oil market has been the US market,” independent trader Ellis Eckland said.

The weekly report by the US Department of Energy also said gasoline stockpiles rose 2.1 million barrels against analysts’ expectations for a drop of 1.3 million barrels.

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Oil Rises In Asian Trade was first posted on September 11, 2009 at 12:02 pm.
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