By Claudia Assis, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose toward a two-month high Tuesday, gaining on a weaker U.S. dollar and bullish moves in global equities.
Crude for November delivery (CLX10 82.25, +0.78, +0.96%) added 80 cents to $82.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A surprise interest-rate cut in Japan helped set the trading tone, with the nation’s central bank pledging to buy assets while setting its key interest rate between zero and 0.1%.
A similar round of moves giving rise to currency devaluations around the world as well as tightening oil-market fundamentals are likely to push prices higher still, analysts at J.P. Morgan said in a note Tuesday.
Moreover, “continued disruptions at France’s largest oil port has added further upside pressure to crude,” noted analysts at Action Economics. Port workers in Marseilles have been on strike for over a week, according to reports.
On Monday, oil prices hit a high of $82.42 a barrel in Nymex trading, before a rally fizzled.
Investors will also get a first look at the status of U.S. inventories later Tuesday, when the American Petroleum Institute reports its weekly numbers.
Weekly data from the Energy Department, typically watched more closely by the energy markets, come out on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts expect a decline of 1.3 million barrels in the nation’s inventories of crude oil. Gasoline stocks are seen rising 700,000 barrels on the week, while reserves of distillates are forecast to decrease 900,000 barrels.
Also Tuesday, natural-gas futures continued to falter, with the November contract losing a penny, or 0.4%, to $3.71 per million British thermal units.
