Global Biz
Oil jumps to fresh 1-year high near $76 a barrel
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-15 13:25
SINGAPORE: Oil prices reached a fresh one-year high near $76 a barrel Thursday in Asia on a weaker US dollar and growing investor optimism about an economic recovery.
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Oil investors have fed off rising stock markets and a falling dollar this week to break out of a $65 to $75 trading range that has held since May.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.5 percent Wednesday to above 10,000 for the first time in a year on encouraging earnings reports from Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Most Asian stock indexes gained in early trading.
Meanwhile, the euro rose to $1.495 in early Asian trading from $1.4933 the previous day while the dollar gained to 89.46 yen from 89.34. Oil is traded in US dollars and its price tends to rise when the dollar falls.
"There's a perception that the economy is getting stronger and the dollar is getting weaker," said Gerard Rigby, an energy analyst with Fuel First Consulting in Sydney. "But we haven't seen a real improvement in demand just yet."
US oil inventories fell unexpectedly last week, the American Petroleum Institute s barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Gasoline supplies declined 2.7 million barrels, the API said, while analysts had anticipated a 1.6 million barrel gain.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 2.43 cents to $1.97 a gallon. Gasoline for November delivery gained 2.77 cents to $1.89 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery jumped 4.5 cents to $4.48 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude rose 54 cents to $73.64 on the ICE Futures exchange.
