Forexpros – Crude oil futures traded higher on U.S. economic strength, decade low inventories, and Iranian tensions.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for January settlement traded at USD99.88 a barrel during mid European trade advancing 0.35%.
It earlier hit a daily high of USD100.23 a barrel.
Weakness in the U.S. dollar added to the bullish crude price environment.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gave back 0.18%% to trade at 80.13.
Dollar weakness generally lifts commodity prices, as it increases their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities cheaper for holders of other currencies.
U.S. jobless claims hit the lowest levels since April, 2008 and leading indicators climbed more than forecast signaling an improved economic picture.
Decade low U.S. crude inventories combined with the improving economic situation triggered the bullish sentiment.
Gavin Wendt, of Mine Life Pty, explained to Bloomberg, “There’s better economic news, slightly better sentiment out of the U.S., and that obviously has a big impact on crude prices.”
Meanwhile, saber rattling from Iran in response to western sanction threats added to the supply concerns.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery traded lower by 0.22% to trade at USD107.64 a barrel, up USD7.76 on its U.S. Counterpart.
This nearly USD10.00 spread has been narrowing recently, but is still historically high. The two contracts traditionally trade within USD1.00 of each other.
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