MW: Crude little changed after hitting one-year high above $79
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures traded little changed Monday morning, swinging between gains and losses as the market looked for direction after prices hit another one-year high, this time above $79 a barrel, in overnight trading.
Oil rallied 9.4% last week, the biggest weekly gain in two months. It saw a seven-session winning streak ended on Friday.
In recent trading, crude for November delivery stood almost flat at $78.55 a barrel in North American electronic trading. The contract will expire at the end of trading on Tuesday.
Earlier Monday, November crude rose to an intraday high of $79.05 a barrel.
Crude for December delivery, which registered more volume, edged down 27 cents, or 0.3%, to $78.75 a barrel.
Oil traders are betting that "positive third-quarter results in the U.S. corporate sector and better U.S. housing market data continue to fuel economic optimism," wrote analysts at Commerzbank in a note to clients.
"Should the markets be disappointed, however, an oil price correction is likely," they said, adding that the later stage of the rally in oil has mostly been driven by speculators.
China, the second-biggest oil consumer, probably saw economic growth at a rate of 9% in the third quarter, a research department of the country's State Council said Monday. It would mark a sharp rise from growth of 7.9% in the second quarter and 7.1% over the first six months of the year, according to the official Xinhua news agency. See full story.
In the U.S., industrial production increased at an annual rate of 5.2% in the third quarter, the fastest growth in four years and the first quarterly increase since the recession began late in 2007.
Positive economic news typically boosts oil prices, because it raises expectations for a swift economic recovery and a rebound in energy demand.
At 11 a.m. Eastern time, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to make a speech on Asia and the financial crisis.
Energy traders are also awaiting the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index for October, due for release at 1 p.m. Eastern.
In other energy trading, November reformulated gasoline sank 0.3% to $1.9734 a gallon and November heating oil eased 0.1% to $2.0291 a gallon.
November natural-gas futures lost 5.9 cents, or 1.2%, to $4.722 per million British thermal units.
