Oil traded little changed near a seven-week high after U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product and weekly jobless claims beat economists’ estimates in signs that demand may improve.
Crude jumped 2.7 percent yesterday, capping the biggest monthly gain since May 2009, after a government report showed that the U.S. economy grew at a 1.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter. Prices also rose as the drop in jobless claims indicated that companies are cutting back on firings.
“There is a level of optimism in the market,” said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney. “Whether or not it has the ability to push through $80, or $82, we really have to see the numbers pick up in terms of business.”
The November contract traded at $80.112a barrel, up 15 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:25 a.m. Sydney time. Yesterday it added $2.11 to $79.97, the highest since Aug. 10.
Futures climbed 11 percent in September and 5.7 percent in the third quarter. Prices are 4.8 percent higher for the week.
U.S. initial jobless claims decreased by 16,000 to 453,000 in the week ended Sept. 25, lower than the 460,000 median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, Labor Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. Unemployment has hovered around 10 percent.
Business Activity
The revised GDP figure exceeded the 1.6 percent median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Growth slowed from 3.7 percent in the first quarter.
Business activity in the U.S. also accelerated unexpectedly this month, according to the Institute for Supply Management- Chicago Inc. The group said its business barometer climbed to 60.4 in September, exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
The government of Ecuador, the smallest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, called for international help after what it called a “coup attempt” yesterday by members of its security forces. The opposition is behind the attempt to take down the government, according to a statement on the president’s website.
Ecuador pumped 465,000 barrels a day of crude this month, or 1.6 percent of OPEC’s total, a Bloomberg News survey showed yesterday. OPEC’s current president is Wilson Pastor, Ecuador’s minister of non-renewable natural resources.
Brent crude for November settlement was at $82.44 a barrel, up 13 cents, on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell in Singapore at crussell7@bloomberg.net
http://jodnet.blogspot.com
“There is a level of optimism in the market,” said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney. “Whether or not it has the ability to push through $80, or $82, we really have to see the numbers pick up in terms of business.”
The November contract traded at $80.112a barrel, up 15 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:25 a.m. Sydney time. Yesterday it added $2.11 to $79.97, the highest since Aug. 10.
Futures climbed 11 percent in September and 5.7 percent in the third quarter. Prices are 4.8 percent higher for the week.
U.S. initial jobless claims decreased by 16,000 to 453,000 in the week ended Sept. 25, lower than the 460,000 median forecast of 47 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, Labor Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. Unemployment has hovered around 10 percent.
Business Activity
The revised GDP figure exceeded the 1.6 percent median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Growth slowed from 3.7 percent in the first quarter.
Business activity in the U.S. also accelerated unexpectedly this month, according to the Institute for Supply Management- Chicago Inc. The group said its business barometer climbed to 60.4 in September, exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
The government of Ecuador, the smallest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, called for international help after what it called a “coup attempt” yesterday by members of its security forces. The opposition is behind the attempt to take down the government, according to a statement on the president’s website.
Ecuador pumped 465,000 barrels a day of crude this month, or 1.6 percent of OPEC’s total, a Bloomberg News survey showed yesterday. OPEC’s current president is Wilson Pastor, Ecuador’s minister of non-renewable natural resources.
Brent crude for November settlement was at $82.44 a barrel, up 13 cents, on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell in Singapore at crussell7@bloomberg.net
http://jodnet.blogspot.com
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