Crude Oil Rises After Unexpected Decline in U.S. – indicating the pace of economic decline may be slowing.
Sponsored LinksOil climbed as much as 2.5 percent after the Labor Department reported that claims decreased by 53,000 to 610,000 in the week ended April 11, the fewest since January. Chinese industrial production expanded by 8.3 percent in March from a year earlier, up from 3.8 percent in the first two months, the statistics bureau said today in Beijing (China).
“The rise in prices has nothing directly to do with oil,” said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president of global energy futures at Macquarie Futures USA Inc. in New York(US). “We are getting tidbits of news from China and the U.S. that hint that the worst may be over.”
Crude oil for May delivery rose 73 cents, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $49.98 a barrel at 2:49 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 12 percent so far this year.
The Federal Reserve said in its Beige Book business survey yesterday that economic contractions were slowing or stabilizing in San Francisco, the largest district, as well as in New York, Chicago, Kansas City and Dallas.
China, the biggest oil and energy consumer after the U.S., grew 6.1 percent during the first quarter, the slowest rate in almost 10 years, according to the statistics bureau.
“Although the Chinese economy only grew at a disappointing 6.1 percent, industrial output rebounded strongly,” Barakat said. “The industrial growth is probably a result of the country’s huge stimulus program.”
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