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.
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