Oil traded near the highest price in two weeks on signs that crude exports from Kuwait and Nigeria may be disrupted, while a rally in equity markets underscored speculation that Europe will contain its debt crisis. Futures were little changed after increasing yesterday for a fourth day in the longest streak of gains since August. Stocks rose after leaders in France and Germany promised to stem a crisis that threatens to pull Europe into recession. A strike may block some oil shipments from Kuwait, a union official said, while Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Nigerian venture declared force majeure on exports of Forcados crude because of sabotage. “Momentum-based selling appears to be slowing for commodities, with crude oil taking the lead,” Mark Pervan, Melbourne-based head of commodity research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said in a note today. “Crude benchmarks jumped in the hopes that there is enough political intent in Europe to resolve the debt crisis. Supply side factors supported prices.” Crude for November delivery was at $85.62 a barrel, up 21 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:12 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday climbed 2.9 percent to $85.41, the highest close since Sept. 21. Prices are down 6.4 percent this year. Brent oil for November settlement was at $109.02 a barrel, up 6 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract was at a premium of $23.33 to New York crude, compared with a record of $26.87 on Sept. 6. Kuwait, Nigeria Customs employees in Kuwait went on strike yesterday for higher wages, disrupting operations at the country’s main airport, sea ports and border crossings, and threatening to block oil exports, a customs union official said. Nigerian oil-worker unions started a three-day strike yesterday to press the government to protect their members from a resurgence in kidnappings, shutting down offshore and onshore oil and gas facilities and affecting refineries in four states, Babatunde Oke, a spokesman for the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or Pengassan, said. Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Nigerian venture declared force majeure on exports of Forcados crude for the final three months of the year and lifted curbs to Bonny Light shipments. The company is unable to meet its contractual obligations because of sabotage of the Trans Forcados pipeline, Shell said in an e- mailed statement yesterday. Europe Plan Asian equities rose, driving a regional benchmark index higher for the fourth straight day, after U.S. and European shares jumped in response to a pledge German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy to recapitalize European banks and address Greece’s debt crisis by Nov. 3. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 1.1 percent to 114.94 as of 9:25 a.m. in Tokyo, led by exporters and mining companies. More than four stocks rose for each one that fell. Crude in New York may extend gains, technical indicators show. Futures are moving toward the upper Bollinger band at $90 and have technical support along the lower band at $76 a barrel, according to Glen Ward, head of retail derivatives at London Capital Group Ltd. Oil’s rise above the nine-day and 14-day moving averages last week was also bullish, he said yesterday. U.S. crude oil stockpiles likely rose by 1 million barrels last week, according to the median of nine analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey before a weekly Energy Department report on Oct. 13. The department is releasing the data a day later than usual because of the Columbus Day holiday yesterday. Gasoline supplies probably declined by 500,000 barrels last week, the survey shows. Inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, may drop by 1 million barrels, according to the survey. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Gordon in Hong Kong at pgordon6@bloomberg.net

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