By Christian Schmollinger July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for a fourth day on speculation demand will increase as stock markets advanced and Chinese refiners boosted processing to a 16-month high. Oil climbed above $64 a barrel after Asian stocks gained, led by commodity and technology shares. Refiners in China, the world’s second-largest oil user, raised their operating rates for an eighth week to 85.12 percent on July 16, said CBI China, a Shanghai-based commodities researcher. “If the initial slew of reports are any indication, then maybe we will see better-than-expected results,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. “The Chinese economy is benefiting from the stimulus put in place. Oil demand will remain robust.” Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as 73 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $64.29 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices were at $64.25 at 2:10 p.m. Singapore time. Oil has gained 44 percent this year. The August contract expires tomorrow. The more-widely held September contract climbed as much as 67 cents, or 1 percent, to $65.25 a barrel at 2:14 p.m. in Singapore. Oil prices gained 6.1 percent last week, helped by rising equity markets and a rebound in U.S. housing starts. The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index added 2.2 percent to 340.66 as of 2:06 p.m. in Hong Kong. The gauge has rallied 24 percent in the past three months amid optimism stimulus plans around the world will revive the global economy. Dollar Weakens Oil was also supported as the U.S. currency weakened, boosting the investment appeal of dollar-denominated commodities. The dollar fell to $1.4159 per euro from $1.4102, after slipping to $1.4181, the weakest since July 1. “This is all related to investors’ risk appetite,” said Purvin & Gertz’s Shum. “When that increases, stocks and commodities tend to do well and the dollar gets weaker.” Gold and copper also gained. Gold for immediate delivery climbed 0.5 percent to $941.97 an ounce at 1:22 p.m. in Singapore. October-delivery copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange added as much as 3.2 percent to 43,100 yuan ($6,309) a metric ton, the highest since Oct. 14. Brent crude for September settlement gained as much as 62 cents, or 1 percent, to $66 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe Exchange. Net-Long Positions Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased their net-long position in New York crude-oil futures in the week ended July 14, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. Speculative long positions, or bets prices will rise, outnumbered short positions by 16,157 contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Washington-based commission said in its Commitments of Traders report. Net-long positions rose by 800 contracts, or 5 percent, from a week earlier. A fire at Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery, started in an alkylation unit, the company said in a statement yesterday. Citgo, the U.S. refiner owned by Venezuela’s state oil company, said there was a “fire incident” at the plant’s alkylation unit, in an e-mailed statement. The fire was contained “within a section of the refinery,” it said. An alkylation unit produces a high-octane additive that can be blended with motor and aviation fuel. The refinery has the capacity to process 165,000 barrels of oil a day, according to the U.S. Energy Department. To contact the reporters on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net

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