MW:Oil gains on signs of U.S. debt-ceiling progress
By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Oil futures advanced in electronic trading on Wednesday, amid signs of progress on talks to lift the U.S. debt ceiling.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery CL1Q +0.92% rose 73 cents to $98.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil rose $1.57, or 1.6%, on Tuesday, after the release of better-than-expected data on the U.S. housing market.
Later that day, U.S. President Barack Obama said that there has been “some progress” in talks to raise the U.S. debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline. Read more on U.S. debt talks.
“Markets were swayed by clear signs of progress being made on both sides of the Atlantic with respect to the debt talks,” said energy analysts at MF Global.
Still, they remain cautious on the likely direction of oil prices.
“With all the behind-the-scene negotiations going on, we are inclined to watch the action from the sidelines for the time being, as the markets are too schizophrenic for our liking,” they said.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.
