Oil futures turned around late in the day as it topped $92 per barrel. The weaker dollar and the increasing US equities offset the worries regarding over demand after the release of weak Chinese economic data.
Crude oil for April delivery gained 11 cents to close at $92.06 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after spending most of the day at a lower level. The amount was the highest settlement for a front month contract since February 27.
Nymex crude closed Friday with a gain of more than 1 percent on the week. It was attributed to the data that showed the addition of 236,000 jobs in February that made the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since late 2008.
Data from China over the weekend made investors concerned about the global economy. China’s consumer inflation increased to 3.2 percent year-on-year in February from 2 percent in January. Industrial production went up more slowly in January and February. Retail sales growth also slowed.
The ICE dollar index traded at 82.594. It closed to the session’s low of 82.567 Monday compared to 82.9000 late Friday.
Oil prices increased in the last few minutes of Nymex trading Monday as the dollar index dropped by the end of the session. The Dow industrials continued their upward trend. The crude shook off any worries about the Chinese economy.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported that the indicators continued to show that economic growth strengthening in the United States and Japan. It showed gains in growth in the euro area and indicators in France and Italy show no more declines in growth.
In China, India and Brazil, the CLIs showed growth below trend according to the OECD. In London, prices for April Brent crude closed at $110.22 per barrel on ICE Futures. It was down 63 cents.
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