By Claudia Assis and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil prices rose on Thursday, pushing past $91 a barrel on a rebound from eight-week lows in the previous sessions and amid reports that China injected a record amount of money into its financial system this week.
Crude futures for November delivery CLX2 +0.98% rose $1.18, or 1.3%, to $91.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That follows losses of 1.5% on Wednesday and the lowest settlement for oil since Aug. 2.
Crude futures climbed by as much as 2% early Thursday, with the contract trading as high as $91.75 a barrel .
Gasoline kept its lead among energy products, keeping up with a late-hour rally Wednesday that boosted it 3.8% at the close Wednesday following news of an explosion at a Canadian refinery.
Gasoline for October delivery RBV2 +2.14% rose 11 cents, or 3.6%, to $3.19 a gallon. That brought weekly gains for gasoline futures to more than 7% so far, contrasting with weekly losses of nearly 6% for crude futures.
Problems in the euro zone kept a lid on prices, however, with Spain delaying the presentation of its budget and the expected set of economic reforms. Markets believe the reforms could pave the way for a bailout request sometime in October.
Protests in Madrid and a snap election called by Catalonia pushed borrowing costs to levels not seen since September on Wednesday.
The budget was delayed for later Thursday with no specific time laid out by the Spanish government. The Tell: Spanish budget: What to expect
Problems in Spain and riots in Athens on Wednesday had brought back a raft of market concerns about the euro zone, which made investors worry about diminished demand for oil, and overshadowed a fall in crude inventories.
Thursday’s durable-goods data dented sentiment a bit, as it showed orders down 13.2% in August. See: Largest drop in three years tied to lower airplane bookings.
The U.S. also cut its forecast for growth in the second-quarter, with the Commerce Department saying gross domestic product will rise by 1.3% compared to 1.7% as previously estimated. See: Slower increases in consumer spending, business investment cited.
News out of China also supported oil prices, however, as media reports said the People’s Bank of China will inject a net 365 billion yuan ($57.9 billion) into the financial system via open-market operations.
Elsewhere in the energy complex, most futures moved higher.
October heating oil HOV2 +0.89% rose 3 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.13 a gallon.
Natural gas for November delivery NGX12 +1.65% added 6 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.27 per million British thermal units.
The Energy Information Administration is expected to report on natural-gas inventories on Thursday.
Analysts surveyed by Platts expect an increase between 74 billion cubic feet and 78 bcf for the week ended Sept. 21. That would compare to a 104-bcf injection in the comparable week of 2011 and a five-year-average increase of 76 bcf.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch.
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
