Crude futures rose Thursday after weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest level since April, 2008, offering some optimism on the U.S. economy. Light, sweet crude for February delivery gained $1.09, or 1.1%, to recently trade at $101.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 70 cents higher at $111.36 a barrel. After trading higher overnight, oil prices received a further boost as the Labor Department reported first-time jobless claims fell by 50,000 to a seasonally adjusted 352,000 in the week ended Jan. 14. The weekly decline was the largest since September, 2005.
Crude investors have focused on the economic outlooks in the U.S. and Europe in recent months to try and decipher whether tepid oil and fuel-product demand may receive a boost. The U.S. economy appears to be recovering even as Europe faces recession, but U.S. fuel demand hasn’t increased in tandem with small improvements in the job market and manufacturing sector. Analysts expect weekly data from the U.S. Energy Department to show an increase in crude and fuel inventories. Oil stockpiles are expected to rise by 2.4 million barrels, while gasoline stocks increase by 2.6 million barrels. Stocks of distillate, which include heating oil and diesel, are seen increasing by 1.5 million barrels.
The data are due at 11:00 a.m. EST Thursday, delayed one day due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
EasyForexNews Research Team