Forexpros – Crude oil futures surged higher on Tuesday on strong U.S. housing data and Iranian supply worries.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for January settlement traded at USD97.43 a barrel during late U.S. trade, advancing 3.44%.
It earlier hit a daily high of USD97.59 a barrel.
Weakness in the U.S. dollar helped trigger soaring crude prices.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gave back 0.85% to trade at 80.26.
Dollar weakness normally helps commodity prices, as it increases their appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar priced commodities less expensive for holders of other currencies.
The U.S. Commerce Department advised that housing starts soared 9.3% last month, beating even the most bullish economic estimate.
In addition, world leaders meeting in Rome vowed to step up the sanctions against Iran leading to supply concerns.
Christopher Bellew, of Jefferies Bache, explained to Bloomberg, “In the U.S., the economy is on the road to recovery, with falling unemployment and consistently improving growth against a background of low and falling oil stockpiles.”
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery soared 3.62% to trade at USD106.97 a barrel, up USD9.52 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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