Crude oil traded below $83 a barrel in New York after declining for the first time in 11 days yesterday as the dollar climbed against the euro and China moved to slow bank lending.
Oil dropped 0.6% yesterday after the dollar rose as the number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims gained less than forecast. China’s central bank sold three-month bills at a higher interest rate for the first time in 19 weeks after saying it will focus on controlling expansion in lending.
Crude oil for February delivery traded at $82.60 a barrel, down 6 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:14 a.m. Sydney time. Yesterday, the contract declined 52 cents to settle at $82.66. It was the first drop since Dec. 21.
The greenback traded at $1.4320 per euro at 11:15 a.m. Sydney time, from $1.4308 yesterday. A stronger dollar curbs the appeal of commodities to investors.
Freezing weather in the US, China and Europe supported the rally in prices. Temperatures in the US Northeast, which consumes about four-fifths of the country’s heating oil, are forecast to remain below normal through Jan. 16, according to the National Weather Service. The cold spell in the region will end next week, the government agency reported.
Source
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment