Crude oil rose to a 17 month high on speculation global demand will increase as the world economy recovers from recession. A report today in the U.S., the world’s largest oil user, will probably show service industries expanded for a third month in March, according to a survey of economists. Oil prices have established a floor of $75 a barrel, Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said April 2. There is no need for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production, he said.
Crude oil for May delivery rose as much as 81 cents, or 1 percent, to $85.68 a barrel in after hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since Oct. 9, 2008. It was at $85.62 at 8:10 a.m. in Tokyo. The contract rose $1.11, or 1.3 percent, to $84.87 on April 1. Prices climbed after reports showed Chinese, European and U.S. manufacturing expanded, while pessimism decreased among Japan’s largest industrial companies.
Oil trading resumed today after the exchange closed on April 2 to mark the Good Friday Easter holiday. A Labor Department report that day showed the U.S. economy gained 162,000 jobs in March, the most in three years, buoyed by 48,000 temporary workers hired by the government to conduct the census. Oil traded within a range of $68 to $84 a barrel in the six months ended March 30. Prices climbed the past two months as improved investor confidence lifted world equity markets and U.S. refining climbed from a 16 month low.....Read the entire article.
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