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US crude oil rallied above $47 on Monday, tracking earlier gains on Wall Street, and as traders cheered comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke that the US recession may finish by the end of the year.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery settled up $1.10 at $47.35 a barrel in New York. Earlier in the day, oil fell more than 3% to under $44 a barrel as traders mulled OPEC's decision on Sunday not to make further production cuts. Its next meeting is in May.

As the session progressed a weaker dollar and strengthening equities buoyed demand for the black stuff.

Reports of a militant attack on a Chevron oil pipeline in Nigeria also gave oil prices a lift. The sabotage could, it has been estimated, reduce output by 11,500 barrels per day.

US crude oil settled at a three month high on Tuesday after data showed housing starts surged 22% from Januarys figure despite expectations of a decline.

Its the first time housing starts have risen since last June. Meanwhile builder permits, which is a measure of builder confidence, also rose 3%, confounding expectations of a decline.

Separate inflation figures came in lower than expected. Oil traders cheered the days economic data and a day of gains on Wall Street.

US light crude oil for April delivery added $1.81 to settle at $49.16 a barrel. Oil prices were also pushed higher ahead of the expiry of Aprils contract.

Expectations that data out Wednesday will show an increase in weekly crude inventories also buoyed demand for oil.

Oil prices settled over $1 lower on Wednesday at the end of the Federal Reserves two day meeting in which the central bank said it would buy up to $300bn in treasury bonds over the next six months.

As expected interest rates were kept on hold at its record low.

US light crude oil for April delivery dropped $1.02 to settle at $48.14 a barrel.

Traders also mulled the weekly inventory report from the Energy Information Administration.

The data showed stockpiles of gasoline soared last week by 3.2m barrels, confounding expectations of a 2.1m barrel decline. The report also showed an increase of 2m barrels in crude inventories while distillates, used in diesel and heating oil, increased by 100,000 barrels.

when does the April contract close? or has it already?

Oil prices surged 7%, breaking clear the $51 barrier, after the government announced it would spend another $1 trillion to boost the economy.

The US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke unveiled a $300bn treasury bond buy-back plan as part of a new $1.15trn package to rejuvenate the US economy on Wednesday.

The move continued to hit the dollar on Thursday, which has pushed higher the dollar-denominated crude.

Crude prices surged $3.47 to $51.61 a barrel.

The lower dollar has also buoyed other commodities, including gold. The move by the Fed to pump more money into the system will also push inflation and that too is seen as a driving factor for gold, which is traditionally seen as a hedge against inflation.

Hopes of a US economic recovery pushed crude oil prices higher on Monday after proposals from US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for a $1trn debt plan.

US light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.73 to end the day at $53.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil also tracked a strong session on Wall Street, with the Dow leaping almost 7%, its strongest gain since last November. Hopes of an economic recovery of course sparked hopes of a recovery in oil demand. Earlier in the session it rose to a high of $54.05.

Details of the governments plans to mop up banks toxic assets were enthusiastically received and optimism about an economic recovery ran high on Monday.

While oil prices rose on Monday, analysts expressed concern about the large amount of crude stockpiles, as shown in last weeks Energy Information Administration report. These excess levels of crude oil are expected to keep oil's gains in check.

US crude oil edged lower on Tuesday on rising expectations that weekly inventory data will show an increase in crude stockpiles while the strengthening dollar also added pressure.

US light crude oil for May delivery fell 18 cents to settle at $53.98 a barrel. Earlier in the session it fell to a low of $52.45.

Wednesdays Energy Information Administration is expected to show an increase of 1.1m barrels in crude stockpiles signalling demand for the black stuff is still weak as consumers grapple with the economic downturn.

Among precious metals gold prices fell once again as the greenback rose against major currencies. COMEX gold for May delivery fell $29.10 to settle at $924.70 an ounce.

The yellow metal also suffered some profit taking following last weeks gains.

US driving season starts mid-late May. Wonder what effect that might have this year.

Would have thought less consumption BA but there again, also a bit to far away to contemplate for me at the moment.

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Oil prices came under pressure on Wednesday but settled off earlier lows after the governments weekly report showed a much bigger than expected build in energy stockpiles.

The Energy Information Administration said crude inventories rose 3.3m barrels last week compared with expectations of a 1.4m barrels increase.

Gasoline inventories fell by 1.1m barrels in the week while forecasts had been for a decrease of 900,000 barrels. Meanwhile distillate, which is used in diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.6m barrels, bigger than the 200,000 barrels decline expected.

Some surprisingly strong US economic data lifted crude prices off the days lows. New home sales figures climbed 4.7% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000. The Commerce Department said orders for US made durable goods rose 3.4% in February, its first rise in seven months.

US light crude oil for May delivery fell $1.21 to settle at $52.77 a barrel. Before the stockpile and economic data crude traded around 4% lower.

The worst US GDP data for 26 years sent investors scurrying for the safety of gold, pushing the April futures contract up to $940, up $4.20 on the day.

US GDP fell by an annual rate of 6.3% in the final quarter of last year, worse than the initial read of 6.2% but better than consensus forecasts from economists of a 6.6% fall.

Meanwhile, the appeal of gold as a safe asset was further enhanced by news that the total number of US unemployed rose to a record 5.56m, although the dollars strength limited the extent of golds gains.

The oil price was also on the rise, with the April contract rising above $54 a barrel, reversing Wednesdays losses when the Energy Information Administration revealed that crude inventories rose by 3.3m barrels last week.

US crude oil settled almost $2 lower on Friday, settling under $53 a barrel as traders took profit on the previous sessions gains.

US light crude oil for May delivery fell $1.96 to settle at $52.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

A decline on Wall Street, weak economic data, higher than expected weekly crude stockpile data and a stronger dollar also pressured oil prices. Weak retail sales data from Japan and grim US employment data renewed concern about the global economic outlook.

Otherwise crude has enjoyed six straight weeks of gains on hopes that fiscal stimulus from the US and other nations will help stimulate demand for oil.

Among precious metals gold fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened against major currencies. Gold for June delivery fell $16.90 to end at $925.30 an ounce.

Nymex $48.25 heading down oil stocks rising, demand falling, time to get out of oilies?

Maybe, maybe not h.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as financials dusted off the previous sessions losses and commodity stocks enjoyed a broad recovery.

Gains came despite economic data showing a slump in US house prices while a Consumer Confidence Index report showed a slight rise in March from the previous month.

US light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.49 to settle at $49.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The weaker dollar also underpinned demand for crude which had fallen by almost $4 a barrel in the previous session.

Overall sentiment was high on Tuesday as Wall Street posted its best monthly performance in six years.

After the massive profits producers were making with oil @ $100 plus, and those same producers now suffering due to reduced oil usage/lower oil price, I think it's only a matter of time before output is cut further, thus sqeezing the oil price upwards to around $70 - $80 this year, imo of course.
2517

Nymex back up to $50 halifax. Looks like you were wrong.

Make that $51. Looks to be heading up rather than down?

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a weekly government report showed an increase in crude supplies.

Gloomy economic data also dented appetite for oil. According to the latest ADP employment index US private-sector firms slashed 742,000 jobs in March.

Meanwhile the Energy Department said crude supplies rose by 2.8m barrels over the last week bringing crude inventories to their highest level in 16 years although analysts had pencilled in an even bigger increase of around 3.2m barrels.

Supplies of gasoline rose by 2.2m barrels while distillates, used in domestic heating oil and diesel, rose by 300,000 barrels.

Oil prices fell by over $2 to a session low of $47.26 following the report but a rally on Wall Street stemmed bigger losses. US light crude oil for May delivery settled down $1.27 at $48.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil Rises Above $50 on Signs Economic Slump May Be Stabilizing
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By Grant Smith

April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose the most in two weeks, climbing above $50 a barrel on signs the world economy is stabilizing as leaders of Group of 20 nations meet in London to address the financial crisis.

OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said at a conference in Paris oil prices are bottoming out, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its 2009 Brent forecast on evidence that demand destruction has peaked. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday noted encouraging signs of a recovery in financial markets.

Demand is not going to fall as much as some of the doom- sayers have been saying, said Gareth Lewis-Davies, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Group Ltd. in London. What were seeing now is the rate of decline in demand in developed economies decelerating, which of course has to happen before a recovery.

Crude oil for May delivery advanced as much as $3.14, or 6.5 percent, to $51.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $50.95 a barrel at 12:32 p.m. in London. Oil is up 14 percent this year.

Stocks in Europe and Asia rallied, driving the MSCI World Index higher for a third day, while the Group of 20 summit convenes today in London. U.S. durable-goods orders and home sales rose in February, Chinese urban investment surged 26.5 percent in the first two months of the year, and German investor confidence in March reached its highest level since July 2007.

Inventories Rise

Youre seeing encouraging signs of improvement in our markets, Geithner said yesterday in a Bloomberg Television interview in London, where he is attending the meeting with President Barack Obama.

Still, other data is showing that global oil inventories are rising as fuel demand falters because of the recession.

U.S. crude inventories climbed 2.84 million barrels in the week ended March 27 to the highest since July 1993, the Energy Department said. Gasoline supplies unexpectedly rose by 2.23 million barrels to 216.8 million barrels.

Total daily fuel demand averaged over the past four weeks was 18.9 million barrels, down 4.4 percent from a year earlier, the report showed. It was the lowest consumption for a four-week period since October.

Goldman Sachs said Brent crude oil prices may reach $50 a barrel this year, up from an earlier estimate of $45, because of OPECs production cuts.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut oil output by 1.2 percent to an average 27.395 million barrels a day last month, according to a Bloomberg News survey of oil companies, producers and analysts. The 11 OPEC members with quotas, all except Iraq, pumped 25.06 million barrels a day, 215,000 more than their target of 24.845 million.

Ailing Economy

OPEC, in a meeting March 15 in Vienna, decided against cutting production targets further because of concern higher prices might harm an ailing global economy. Ministers pledged to tighten compliance with their quotas after crude oil fell more than $100 a barrel from the July record.

Brent crude for May settlement rose as much as $3.20, or 6.6 percent, to $51.64 a barrel on Londons ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $51.36 a barrel at 12:23 p.m. London time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 2, 2009 07:37 EDT

Oil prices jumped above the $50 barrier, tracking the gains seen in equities as hopes of an economic recovery gained momentum.

Much of the gains were achieved after leaders at the G20 summit in London agreed to a plan that puts the International Monetary Fund at the heart of efforts to kick-start the ailing global economy.

The G20 nations will make $750bn available for the IMF to rescue struggling economies, compared with $250bn previously.

Stocks jumped on the news and on changes in bank accounting rules.

Crude prices benefited because a recovery in the economy will increase demand for oil. US crude for May delivery ended the day up $4.25 at $52.64 a barrel.

$53/barrel now.