Oil Rises to One-Week High After U.S. Jobless Claims Decline
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Oil rose to its highest in more than a week, extending yesterday’s gains as traders bet a larger-than-forecast decline in U.S. jobless claims signaled economic growth is accelerating in the biggest crude-consuming nation.
Futures surged the most in four months yesterday after the Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level since 2008 in the week ended Nov. 20. Oil prices at $100 a barrel would be “comfortable” for producing countries because they offset rising food costs, said Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp.