Crude oil rose the most in four weeks as the dollar fell against the euro, buoying demand for most commodities as an alternative investment, and as OPEC ministers indicated they would refrain from increasing output. Oil gained as much as 2.7 percent as the dollar weakened against the euro after Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its sovereign credit ratings on Greece. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said yesterday oil prices are in the right range. The kingdom is OPEC’s biggest producer.
“It’s a pretty good move down for the dollar, and that’s definitely getting things perked up,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Round Earth Capital, a New York based hedge fund that focuses on food and energy commodities. “The OPEC decision is baked in the cake.” Crude oil for April delivery rose $1.81, or 2.3 percent, to $81.61 a barrel at 10:59 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, oil touched $81.99 a barrel in its biggest increase since Feb. 16. Oil has advanced 72 percent in the past year.
Most major currencies, including the dollar, weakened against the euro after European finance ministers worked out a strategy for emergency loans to Greece should the nation’s plan to reduce the region’s biggest budget deficit fall. S&P affirmed its BBB+ long term and A-2 short term credit ratings on Greece. The dollar weakened 0.6 percent against the euro to $1.3762 at 11:02 a.m. in New York from $1.3677 yesterday. Some investors buy commodities like oil, gold and copper as an alternative investment to the dollar.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities advanced for the first time in seven days, gaining 0.7 percent to 272.74. Twelve of the commodities increased, led by heating oil, crude and gasoline.....Read the entire article.
Watch all of our latest FREE trading videos.....
A Sneak Peek At The S&P 500
Is The US Dollar Reversing Again?
A Sneak Peek At Gold
A Quick Peek at Crude Oil
Share
No comments:
Post a Comment