Forexpros –
Forexpros – Crude oil futures moved higher in Asian trade Wednesday, lifted by prospects for increased energy demand as a Greek debt solution and the faltering U.S. economy looked for answers from global finance officials.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for October delivery traded at USD86.39 a barrel during early Asian trade, easing up 0.06%, after hitting a daily low of USD86.30.
Earlier Tuesday, European Union finance officials said that Greece had made “good progress” in a second round of talks with the EU and the International Monetary Fund
focused on averting Greek default.
Greek news reports outlined a time schedule for the so-called “troika”, the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to meet again in Athens in early October to evaluate Greece’s implementation of austerity reforms.
Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the number of building permits issued in August registered a seven-month high, rising 3.2% and outperforming market expectations of a 1.8% decline.
New housing starts, however, fell 5% to a three-month low, far below economist’s forecast of a 2.3% drop.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee began its two-day policy meeting where market watchers expect the Fed to opt for a move known as “Operation Twist,” a combination of buying and selling of shorter and longer term Treasury bonds in order the bend the yield curve.
On Wall Street, stocked flirted for much of the session with negative territory before closing Tuesday’s session mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.07%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 0.86%, and the S&P 500 shed 0.17%.
A falling U.S. dollar helped to support oil futures, as dollar-denominated futures contracts tend to fall when the dollar rises as it makes them more expensive for holders of other currencies.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, lost 0.05% to 77.47.
On the ICE Futures Exchange Brent oil futures for October delivery dipped 0.09% to trade at USD119.08.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration was scheduled to release its weekly reports on crude oil and gasoline inventories later Wednesday.
Forexpros
