INV: Crude oil trades near 4-month high on U.S. data, Africa violence
Investing.com - Crude oil futures were higher during U.S. morning hours on Monday, trading just below last week’s four-month top after official data showed that U.S. orders for long lasting manufactured goods rose more than forecast in December.
Traders continued to monitor geopolitical tensions in Africa and the Middle East amid concerns over a disruption to supplies from the oil-rich region.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at USD96.69 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, up 0.85% on the day.
New York-traded oil prices rose by as much as 1% earlier in the day to hit a session high of USD96.81 a barrel. Oil prices rallied to a four-month top of USD96.90 a barrel on January 23.
Oil prices extended gains after the U.S. Commerce Department said that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, rose by a seasonally adjusted 4.6% in December, beating expectations for a 1.8% gain.
The report also showed that core durable goods orders, excluding volatile transportation items, rose by a seasonally adjusted 1.3% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.7% increase.
Oil traders will now be anticipating Wednesday’s preliminary data on U.S. fourth quarter economic growth, as well as Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
The Federal Reserve’s policy-setting meeting on Wednesday will also be in focus, as markets search for clues over the future of the central bank’s ultra-loose monetary policy.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for March delivery rose 0.35% to trade at USD113.67 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD16.98 a barrel.
Brent prices drew support from ongoing geopolitical tension in Libya and Algeria. Fears of an attack on oil assets in Libya have escalated in recent weeks, with the OPEC member boosting security at some oil facilities along the Tunisian, Algerian and Niger borders.
Libya is home to Africa’s largest oil reserves, while Algeria and Nigeria are both major suppliers of high quality sweet crude oil.
