By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The price of oil rose to a more-than-week high on Tuesday on optimism that central banks would act to spur economic growth and increase demand for energy.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Monday said he would be comfortable purchasing three-year government bonds to reduce borrowing costs for struggling euro-area nations. Draghi’s comments came ahead of an ECB policy meeting Thursday.
Crude for October delivery CLV2 +1.41% rose as much as 90 cents to $97.37 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The most-active futures contract was lately up 53 cents at $96.98 a barrel.
The floor session was closed Monday due to the Labor Day holiday, and trades made since Friday’s settlement will be booked with Tuesday’s transactions.
On Thursday, Draghi could detail the ECB’s bond-buying plan at his news conference due to be held after the ECB gathering. He told lawmakers on Monday that buying shorter-dated government notes does not constitute state financing, according to media reports citing a member of the European Parliament.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Energy Department releases its weekly inventory report, one day later than usual because of the three-day weekend.
A U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement report released Monday had roughly 58% of oil production and 39% of natural-gas output from the Gulf of Mexico still closed due to Hurricane Isaac. Read the government statement.
Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.
