Oil pared its weekly decline in New York amid speculation the European Central Bank may take further steps to address the region’s debt crisis and avert a deeper global slowdown. Futures advanced as much as 0.9 percent as France’s Le Monde reported that the European Central Bank is preparing to buy debt after ECB President Mario Draghi said yesterday that policy makers will do whatever is needed to preserve the euro. Crude pared gains after Germany’s Bundesbank said restarting the ECB’s bond-purchase program was not the best solution, and amid forecasts that data today will show the U.S. economy grew at the slowest past in a year. “Returning confidence in the euro zone after Draghi’s commitment to protect the euro� is buoying oil, said Myrto Sokou, an analyst at Sucden Financial Ltd. in London. “The main focus will switch to the release of the GDP data that could provide a better insight about the U.S. economic prospects.� Oil for September delivery rose as much as 84 cents to $90.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $89.82 at noon London time. The contract climbed 0.5 percent yesterday to $89.39, the highest close since July 20. Prices are 1.8 percent lower this week. Brent crude for September settlement was up 67 cents at $105.93 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark’s premium to West Texas Intermediate was at $16.11, up from $15.87 yesterday. U.S. GDP U.S. gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 1.4 percent annual rate after a 1.9 percent gain in the prior quarter, according to the median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Consumer purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the world’s largest economy, may have grown at the weakest pace in a year. Oil in New York is climbing above long-term technical resistance at $89.83 a barrel, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. On the weekly chart, that’s the 50 percent Fibonacci retracement of the drop to $32.40 in December 2008 from an intraday record high of $147.27 in July that year. Sell orders tend to be clustered near chart-resistance levels. Financial markets surged yesterday on speculation the ECB will act to lower Spanish borrowing costs after yields on the nation’s bonds rose to levels that prompted bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland. The ECB started buying Spanish and Italian debt in August last year as part of its bond-purchase program. The ECB suspended the program in March. Oil may decline next week on speculation that central banks will take insufficient steps to bolster economic growth, a Bloomberg survey showed. Eighteen of 30 analysts and traders, or 60 percent, forecast crude will decrease through Aug. 3. Nine respondents, or 30 percent, predicted that futures will increase and three said there will be little change in prices. Last week, 44 percent of analysts projected a drop. -- Editors: John Buckley, Rachel Graham To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net

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