Forexpros – Crude oil futures remained higher during U.S. morning hours on Thursday, holding near a seven-week top as traders shrugged off a flurry of disappointing data out of the U.S.
Oil prices remained well-supported as renewed fears over escalating violence in Syria and tensions with Iran reinforced geopolitical fears.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in August traded at USD91.49 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, gaining 1.7%. Prices touched USD91.71 a barrel earlier in the session, the highest since May 29.
The August contract is due to expire at the end of Friday’s trading session.
Meanwhile, the more actively traded contract for September delivery jumped 1.85% to trade at USD91.84 a barrel.
Earlier in the day, prices rose by as much as 2% to trade at USD92.03 a barrel, the highest since May 29.
Oil traders mostly shrugged off data showing that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose by 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, compared to expectations for an increase to 365,000.
Separately, U.S. existing home sales fell unexpectedly in June, underlining concerns over the health of the U.S. housing sector.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said that existing home sales fell by 5.4% to a seasonally adjusted 4.37 million units in June, defying expectations for a modest increase to 4.63 million units.
Existing home sales in May totaled 4.62 million units, upwardly revised from a previously reported 4.55 million units.
Also Thursday, a report showed that manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia-region in July contracted for the third consecutive month in July, adding to concerns over the pace of the U.S. economic recovery
In a report, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index improved by 3.7 points to minus 12.9 in July from June’s reading of minus 16.6.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 8.6 points to a reading of minus 8.0 in July.
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the U.S. central bank was prepared to take further action to support the economic recovery if necessary.
However, he failed to indicate whether the Fed will embark on a third round of quantitative easing.
The U.S. is the world’s largest oil consumer. Worries about the U.S. economy have been dominating market sentiment in recent weeks, alongside the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone and China’s cooling growth.
Oil futures remained supported amid fresh geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran, following a deadly bomb attack on a bus packed with Israeli tourists in a Bulgarian resort town Wednesday that killed at least six people and injured 30 others.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the attack on Iran, saying “This is an Iranian terror attack that is spreading throughout the entire world,” while adding that “Israel will respond with force.”
Concerns over escalating violence in Syria also helped underpin prices.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for September delivery rose 1.5% to trade at USD106.75 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD14.91.
London-traded Brent prices rose to as high as USD107.45 a barrel earlier in the session, the highest since May 29.
Brent prices have been well-supported in recent weeks, rallying nearly 20% from the lows touched in June, amid growing concerns over tightening supplies from Norway, outages in the North Sea region and following the launch of Western-led sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports on July 1.
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