RTRS:Brent rises towards $111 on US stimulus hopes
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude rose towards $111 a barrel on Tuesday, rebounding from sharp falls a day earlier, as expectations for further economic stimulus in the U.S. boosted sentiment.
Front-month Brent rose 58 cents to $110.66 a barrel by 0342 GMT, after rising over a dollar earlier. Brent plunged over $2 a barrel on Monday on weak economic data from the U.S. and China.
U.S. crude was trading at $83.95 a barrel, down $2.50 from Friday's close, as there was no settlement on Monday due to a holiday in the U.S. However, it was up 34 cents from late Monday.
"The market is looking for fresh stimulus coming from Obama when he makes his jobs speech on Thursday, and also when the Fed meets on September 20th," said Gordon Kwan, head of energy research at Mirae Securities in Hong Kong.
U.S. employment growth ground to a halt in August, reviving recession fears and piling pressure on both President Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve to provide more stimulus to aid the world's top energy consumer.
On Monday, Obama previewed proposals for new infrastructure spending and an extension of payroll tax cuts as part of a major jobs package he will unveil this week.
Worsening economic data may also raise the odds of another round of bond buying, or quantitative easing, by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Prices also received a boost from the closure of a major oil field in China due to oil leaks, which analysts expect will reduce CNOOC's total output and earnings by about 2 percent this year, raising the prospect of more Chinese crude imports. Continued...