By Sarah Turner and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose on Friday, drawing support from signs of strength in the Chinese economy.
Oil for January delivery CLF3 +0.30% gained 44 cents, or 0.5%, to $86.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Friday’s advance for oil prices came as a preliminary version of HSBC’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index hit a 14-month high. Read: China manufacturing data show further improvement
Hongbin Qu, HSBC’s chief economist for China, said the improvement in the latest survey results confirmed that an ongoing recovery in the country was “gaining momentum, mainly driven by domestic demand conditions.”
“Risk sentiment has certainly picked up in Asian trade, helped by a strong reading for China’s HSBC flash manufacturing PMI,” said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG Markets.
PMI data from the euro zone pointed to a slowdown in the region’s economic down turn, although the data indicated that output levels continued to contract. See: Euro-zone downturn eases in December: PMI data
The ICE dollar index DXY -0.07% , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, trading at 79.874, down slightly from 79.925 in late North American trading on Thursday.
The move on Friday brought week-to-date gains for oil to 0.9%, with a notable portion of that advance made Wednesday when crude futures jumped 1.1% after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced that it will undertake more asset buying.
In Thursday trading in New York, the contract fell 88 cents, or 1%, to settle at $85.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as traders fretted about debt woes in the U.S. and the U.K., as well as the outlook for demand. Read: Oil settles lower; debt woes, demand in spotlight
In the wider energy complex, January gasoline RBF3 +0.90% rose 3 cents to $2.63 a gallon, while January heating oil HOF3 +0.62% also advanced 3 cents to $2.97 a gallon.
Natural gas for delivery in the same month NGF13 -1.70% declined 5 cents, or 1.5%, to $3.29 per million British thermal units.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney. Follow her on Twitter @SarahTurnerMKTW.
Sara Sjolin is a MarketWatch reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @sarasjolin.
