Oil rises after another weekly gain
Published Jul 21, 2013 08:53PM ET
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for September delivery rose 0.30% to USD108.20 per barrel in Asian trading Monday after 0.4% Friday to settle the week at USD108.23 a barrel by close of trade.
On the week, Nymex oil futures advanced 2.1%, the fourth consecutive weekly gain. The U.S. benchmark has rallied nearly 14% over the past four weeks.
Oil was boosted last week amid strong U.S. economic data and supportive comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Bernanke said the pace of the central bank’s bond purchases are not a “preset course”.
In the first day of his semi-annual testimony to Congress, Bernanke reiterated that the Fed will continue to maintain its accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future.
He added that the central bank may taper its USD85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program later this year and halt it around mid-2014.
Later Monday, Halliburton, the second-largest oilfield service company in the world, delivers quarterly results. Traders will have eyes on that report because demand for the services and technologies provided by Halliburton and its rivals is a sign of how much capital exploration and production companies are willing to spend. Robust demand for oil services could be a sign oil companies expect prices to climb.
Data from the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission indicate trades boosted their long positions in oil by 8% to 304,383 contracts last week, the highest level since April 2011.
Elsewhere, Brent futures for September delivery inched down 0.06% to USD108.41 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
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Written By: Investing.com
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