BS: Oil Rises to Seven-Week High as U.S. Job Losses Trail Estimates
By Mark Shenk
March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil surged to a seven-week high after U.S. employment declined less than forecast in February, bolstering optimism that fuel demand will climb in the world’s biggest energy-consuming country.
“The employment numbers were quite good relative to expectations, so I’m surprised the market isn’t responding more,” said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president of energy at MF Global in New York.
Crude oil for April delivery rose $1.19, or 1.5 percent, to $81.40 a barrel at 9:09 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $81.54, the highest level since Jan. 12. The contract is up 2.2 percent this week.
Brent crude oil for April delivery climbed $1.20, or 1.5 percent, to $79.74 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract touched $79.84, the highest level since Jan. 12.
“We had a nice spike up on the jobless report,” said Addison Armstrong, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “Whenever we get above $80 the bids seem to dry up. I will have to see us close above $80 for a few more days before I’m convinced we’re going to test $84.96.”
The April oil contract surged to $84.96 a barrel on Jan. 11, the highest since October 2008.
--Editors: Joe Link, Richard Stubbe
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
