Oil traded near the highest in 26 months as signs the economic recovery is gathering pace in the U.S., the world’s biggest crude-consuming nation, stoked speculation that fuel demand will increase. Oil rose as much as 0.5 percent after a report showed U.S. service industries expanded in November at the fastest pace in six months. Futures pared gains after the dollar rebounded on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s remarks that a return to a recession “doesn’t seem likely.” A stronger U.S. currency reduces the appeal of investing in commodities. “Ninety dollars a barrel is now like a magnet that the bulls in the market want to break through,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at energy consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. “These days, sentiment is so bullish that any bad news on the economic front can’t hurt the rally in oil.” Crude for January delivery was at $89.35 a barrel, up 16 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:24 p.m. Singapore time. It earlier rose as much as 41 cents to $89.60, the highest intraday price since Oct. 9, 2008. Oil has climbed 12.6 percent this year. Oil will advance to $120 a barrel before the end of 2012 as consumption grows in emerging economies, according to a Dec. 3 report from JPMorgan Chase & Co. Futures will average $93 a barrel next year, up from a previous estimate of $89.75, the bank’s analysts forecast. Crude settled on Dec. 3 at the highest closing price since Oct. 7, 2008, after the Dollar Index dropped as U.S. employers added fewer jobs than forecast in November. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index, which covers about 90 percent of the economy, increased to 55 last month from 54.3 in October. A reading higher than 50 signals growth. Top of Range “It’s meant to be a manufacturing-led recovery,” said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney. “We’re right at the top end of the range” for crude prices, he said. U.S. unemployment may take five years to fall to a normal level and Fed purchases of Treasury securities beyond the $600 billion announced last month are possible, Bernanke said, according to a transcript of an interview airing today on CBS Corp.’s “60 Minutes” program. The Dollar Index had its sharpest monthly gain since May last month as optimism the Fed’s stimulus plan will spur growth outweighed concern the greenback would be debased. The index rose 0.1 percent to 79.486 today. Brent crude for January settlement gained as much as 33 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $91.75 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. The contract climbed 73 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $91.42 a barrel on Dec. 3. Heating Oil Crude prices also rose after heating oil prices surged to the highest in more than two years on Dec. 3 amid unusually cold weather in Europe. Heating oil for January delivery rose 0.2 percent to $2.4928 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It advanced 3.28 cents, or 1.3 percent, to settle at $2.4874 a gallon on Dec. 3, the highest settlement price for the front- month contract since Oct. 8, 2008. “The cold weather in Europe has helped squeeze up distillates demand, and that is supportive of stronger oil prices,” Purvin & Gertz’s Shum said. The earliest widespread snowfall in the U.K. since 1993 has frozen over roads, disrupting traffic, with icy weather likely to last until at least Dec. 8, British Weather Services said last week. Temperatures from the U.S. Midwest to the Northeast will also be lower than normal from Dec. 8 through Dec. 16, the U.S. National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center said. Hedge funds and other large investors increased bullish bets on oil by 18 percent in the seven days ended Nov. 30, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report. It was the largest increase since the week ended Oct. 5. To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Sharples in Canberra at bsharples@bloomberg.net; Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell at crussell7@bloomberg.net.

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