Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Oil mixed in Asia on improving US economy

Oil was mixed in Asia today on strong economic data suggesting an improvement in the health of the US economy.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, dipped eight cents to $91.47 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February was up three cents at $94.87.

The Institute for Supply Management said yesterday that US manufacturing activity grew for the 17th month in a row in December, bolstering confidence that the US economic recovery is gaining momentum.

The Commerce Department also said that construction spending rose by 0.4% in November to its highest point in five months. The US is the world's biggest oil-consuming nation.

Analysts said that oil sentiment has turned decidedly bullish, partly driven by unusually cold weather, but more due to an increasingly optimistic consensus view on the 2011 economic performance, especially for the US.

Source: www.rte.ie

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