Oil prices closed above US$77 a barrel, near an all-time high on Friday on technical buying and news of faster-than-expected economic growth.
The US Commerce Department said on Friday the US economy as measured by GDP expanded at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in the second quarter, removing some of the concerns about economic growth that sent oil prices down on Thursday in sympathy with Wall Street's plunge.
But some analysts discounted the economic growth numbers as a factor in Friday's rally, saying that the government data was released hours before prices took off.
Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois, said technical buying by large investment funds -- or predetermined decisions to buy when prices reach certain levels -- fueled Friday's price surge.
"We've got a highly charged market here, and it doesn't take much of a headline to spark a 5 percent price move," he said.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose US$2.07 to settle at US$77.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The highest ever settlement price for a front-month contract was US$77.03 a barrel, set on July 14 last year. Reflecting how volatile trading in oil futures has been, oil ended the week up only US$1.45 a barrel, or 1.9 percent, despite rising more than US$2 a barrel on two separate days.
Concerns about lower economic growth drove Thursday's sell-off on Wall Street, analysts said. Oil prices fell US$0.93 on Thursday in sympathy with the stock market, they said.
Oil's rally pulled the rest of the energy complex higher on Friday. August gasoline rose US$0.0258 to settle at US$2.1017 a gallon (3.7854 liter) after falling earlier. Gasoline futures end the week 6.26 cents, or 2.9 percent, lower.
Meanwhile, the average US price of a gallon of gas fell US$0.015 overnight to US$2.92 (US$0.77 a liter), according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
Retail prices, which typically lag the futures market, are at their lowest point since peaking at US$3.227 a gallon (US$0.85 a liter) in late May.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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