Crude oil rose to the highest level since November after a report showed that the US cut fewer jobs than forecast last month, a signal that the worst of the recession has passed and fuel demand may rebound.
Oil prices gained 10 percent this week as reports on US home sales and manufacturing in China boosted optimism about the economy and after US crude-oil supplies climbed less than forecast. US payrolls fell by 539,000, after a 699,000 loss in March, the US Labor Department said on Friday in Washington. A loss of 600,000 jobs was forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
“Clearly, the better-than-expected jobs number supports the recent rally that’s been based on early signs of an economic recovery,” said John Kilduff, senior vice president of energy at MF Global Inc in New York. “There is a natural skepticism that comes with this rally because the fundamentals of the oil market are so poor.”
Crude oil for June delivery rose US$1.92, or 3.4 percent, to US$58.63 a barrel at 2:59pm on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Nov. 11. Futures had the largest weekly gain since the week ended March 20.
Gasoline for June delivery climbed US$0.04, or 2.4 percent, to end the session at US$1.7055 a gallon (US$0.4505 per liter) in New York, the highest since Oct. 20.
Equities increased after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said results of the government’s review of the banking industry’s health “should provide considerable comfort.”
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 2.4 percent to a four-month high of 929.23, capping its eighth weekly advance out of the past nine.
US crude supplies rose 605,000 barrels to 375.3 million last week, the highest since 1990, a US Energy Department report on Wednesday showed. A 2.5 million-barrel increase was forecast by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.
Brent crude oil for June settlement rose US$1.67, or 3 percent, to end the session at US$58.14 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest since Nov. 10.
Crude oil volume in electronic trading on the NYMEX was 468,313 contracts as of 3:10pm on Friday in New York. Volume totaled 738,367 contracts on Thursday, 38 percent higher than the average over the past three months. Open interest was 1.2 million contracts. The exchange has a one-business-day delay in reporting open interest and full volume data.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS