May crude futures settled Wednesday at the highest level since October 2008
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures rose for a fourth session on Thursday to trade above $84 a barrel, as strong manufacturing data from China and the euro zone boosted hopes of a speedy recovery in the global economy and energy demand.
Crude oil for May delivery gained 68 cents, or 0.8%, to $84.44 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. Earlier, the contract hit an intraday high of $84.67 a barrel.
Crude futures have finished with gains over the past three sessions. On Wednesday, oil prices settled at their highest level since October 2008, as a weaker dollar helped offset an increase in U.S. crude-oil inventories.
Economic data underpinned oil prices on Thursday. China's manufacturing activity accelerated in March, according to two industrial surveys. Read more.
Separately, the Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey of business sentiment showed significantly less pessimism among the nation's biggest firms.
Also, manufacturing activity across the 16-nation euro zone grew at its fastest pace since June 2006, according to the final Markit euro-zone manufacturing purchasing-managers index for March. See full story on euro-zone activity.
"As oil prices have recently hit the highest level since October 2008, the $84-per-barrel threshold may be surpassed if the rise continues after the end-of-quarter activity," said analysts at Vienna-based JBC Energy in a note.
"In recent weeks, the relationship between financial markets and oil prices has been stronger than the euro/dollar relationship," they said.
The correlation between oil prices and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU 10,857, -50.79, -0.47%) remains positive, highlighting the role that economic sentiment has on oil prices, the analysts said.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Thursday, as traders awaited several economic reports. Weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, followed by the U.S. manufacturing ISM index for March and construction spending for February at 10 a.m.
