Crude oil rose to the highest level since November after a report showed that the US cut fewer jobs than forecast last month, a signal that the worst of the recession has passed and fuel demand may rebound.
Oil prices gained 10 percent this week as reports on US home sales and manufacturing in China boosted optimism about the economy and after US crude-oil supplies climbed less than forecast. US payrolls fell by 539,000, after a 699,000 loss in March, the US Labor Department said on Friday in Washington. A loss of 600,000 jobs was forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
“Clearly, the better-than-expected jobs number supports the recent rally that’s been based on early signs of an economic recovery,” said John Kilduff, senior vice president of energy at MF Global Inc in New York. “There is a natural skepticism that comes with this rally because the fundamentals of the oil market are so poor.”
Crude oil for June delivery rose US$1.92, or 3.4 percent, to US$58.63 a barrel at 2:59pm on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Nov. 11. Futures had the largest weekly gain since the week ended March 20.
Gasoline for June delivery climbed US$0.04, or 2.4 percent, to end the session at US$1.7055 a gallon (US$0.4505 per liter) in New York, the highest since Oct. 20.
Equities increased after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said results of the government’s review of the banking industry’s health “should provide considerable comfort.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 2.4 percent to a four-month high of 929.23, capping its eighth weekly advance out of the past nine.
US crude supplies rose 605,000 barrels to 375.3 million last week, the highest since 1990, a US Energy Department report on Wednesday showed. A 2.5 million-barrel increase was forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Brent crude oil for June settlement rose US$1.67, or 3 percent, to end the session at US$58.14 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest since Nov. 10.
Crude oil volume in electronic trading on the NYMEX was 468,313 contracts as of 3:10pm on Friday in New York. Volume totaled 738,367 contracts on Thursday, 38 percent higher than the average over the past three months. Open interest was 1.2 million contracts. The exchange has a one-business-day delay in reporting open interest and full volume data.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS