Crude oil rose the most in more than four months as the dollar declined against the euro, bolstering the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. Oil climbed as much as 4.3 percent as the euro rebounded from the lowest level against the dollar in nine months yesterday. European finance ministers turned up the pressure on Greece to put its public finances in order and refused to say how they would make good on a promise to rescue the nation if it can’t contain its debt.
“Commodities are moving as a group today,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “We’re looking at the usual suspects, the dollar and the euro. The markets are optimistic today that Europe will be able to bolster Greece and some other debt ridden countries that use the euro.” Crude oil for March delivery rose $3, or 4.1 percent, to $77.13 a barrel at 11:19 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $77.28, the highest since Feb. 3. Prices have more than doubled from a year earlier. It was the biggest percentage gain since Sept. 30.
There was no floor trading in New York yesterday because of the Presidents Day holiday. Yesterday’s electronic trades and today’s session will count toward today’s settlement. The dollar traded at $1.3725 per euro, down 0.9 percent from $1.3598 yesterday. The common currency has weakened 4.2 percent against the greenback since the start of the year, partly because of concern over the euro zone’s stability in the face of large debts among member nations.
Finance ministers from the 16 nations that use the common currency told Greek authorities to prepare more deficit measures by March 16, in case the government fails to show sufficient progress reining in the region’s largest budget deficit.....Read the entire article.
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