LONDON (SHARECAST) - Crude oil was on the up on Thursday, with the November contract rising 1.15% or 93 cents to $82.14 per barrel, edging away from its 52-week low of $80.90, though the West Texas sweet light crude contract closed below its intra-day high of $83.98.
Brent crude oil on the ICE Futures Europe exchange was also firmer at $103.95 per barrel.
The firmer trend was sparked by expectations of stronger demand from Europe, as it slowly pieces together a new rescue programme for struggling so-called periphery nations.
On Thursday, the German parliament voted strongly in favour of increasing the eurozone rescue fund, both in size and flexibility, bringing the number of nations voting in favour of the move to more than half of the 17 members.
If the move goes ahead, the European Financial Stability Facility will be able to lend €440bn, significantly up from the current allowance of €250bn. It would also give it the power to buy sovereign bonds and facilitate banking recapitalisations.
Oil prices were also given a boost by the news that US gross domestic product was much better than expected in the second quarter. The third and final estimate of second quarter US real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rose to an annualised 1.3%, according to the latest data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The reading was slightly above the market consensus estimate of 1.2% and the BEA's earlier estimate of 1.0%. First quarter growth was 0.4% as confirmed by the BEA.
The December contract for gold fell slightly to $1,617.3 ounce, while silver's December contract moved in the opposite direction by 1.29% to finish at $30.52 per ounce.
Gold's haven qualities were less appealing after signs of a welcome pick-up in the US employment market. The number of first time claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 37,000 to their lowest level since since later winter / early spring for the week ended 24 September when they stood at 391,000.
