FX:Crude oil higher on U.S. economic data anticipation, inventory
Forexpros - Crude oil futures traded higher Friday as investors anticipate positive numbers from the U.S. nonfarm payroll and unemployment numbers to be released later in the session.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in October traded at USD96.82 a barrel during European trade, adding 0.31%.
Investors are anticipating the release of U.S. nonfarm payroll data and the unemployment numbers with expectations pointing toward an upward surprise based on U.S. index futures trading higher on the session.
Crude oil advanced after official data showed that industrial production in Germany climbed by 1.3% in July, beating expectations for a 0.2% rise and following a revised 0.4% decline the previous month.
The data came after European Central Bank Mario Draghi unveiled on Thursday a new bond-purchasing program, dubbed Outright Monetary Transactions, which he said will provide "a fully effective backstop" against market volatility.
Speaking at the bankā€™s post-policy meeting press conference, Draghi said "strict and effective conditionalityā€¯ was an essential element of the plan.
Under the terms of the plan, the ECB would buy unlimited amounts of government bonds of up to three years in maturity, as long as the country in question is signed up to the OMT program and agrees to economic reforms
In fundamental news, prices found support after the U.S. EIA said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 7.4 million barrels in the week ended August 31, compared to expectations for a decline of 5.3 million barrels.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 357.1 million barrels as of last week.
Payroll processing firm ADP said on Thursday that U.S. non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 201,000 in August, easily surpassing expectations for an increase of 140,000.
A separate report showed that the number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by a more-than-expected 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 365,000, compared to expectations for a decline of 7,000 to 370,000.
In addition Thursday, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management said that service sector activity in the U.S. grew at a faster rate than expected in August, hitting the highest level since May.
The U.S. is the worldā€™s biggest oil-consuming country, responsible for almost 22% of global oil demand.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for October delivery inched up 0.47% to trade at USD113.97 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD18.74 a barrel.
