By Margot Habiby June 21 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to the highest price in six weeks on speculation that demand may grow as China, the world’s fastest-growing energy consumer, signaled an end to the yuan’s fixed rate to the dollar. Oil climbed above $78 a barrel after the People’s Bank of China indicated yesterday that it’s abandoning the yuan peg adopted during the global financial crisis to shield exporters, a move that may boost the country’s purchasing power. It didn’t provide a timeframe for the change. “If China can get some breathing room on its currency, its economy continues to grow and they start taking more oil off the market, you’re going to see supply getting really tight,” said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC in Houston. “As the U.S. starts to grow, we’re going to have a hard time getting extra supply. They’re going to get first dibs.” Oil for July delivery rose $1.51, or 2 percent, to $78.69 a barrel at 9:32 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It touched $78.92, the highest level since May 6. Prices have risen 13 percent in the past year. China, the world’s most populous nation and the fastest- growing major economy, consumes more oil than any country except the U.S. China’s central bank said there’s no basis for “large scale” moves in its currency even as it pledged increased exchange-rate flexibility. To contact the reporter on this story: Margot Habiby in Dallas at mhabiby@bloomberg.net.

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