Heating Oil Futures Advance as Jobless Rate Drops to 6-Month Low
Heating oil advanced after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. jobless rate fell last month to the lowest level since April.
Futures gained as the unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in October from 9.1 percent the previous month. Payrolls rose by 80,000 and followed gains in the prior two months that were revised up by 102,000, Labor Department figures showed.
“The jobs number was not a blockbuster, but it was the type of report that seems to suggest the economy is not in a recession,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. “There’s also concerns coming out of the G-20 and still a lot of uncertainty how all that is going to play out.”
December-delivery heating oil rose 2.21 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $3.0602 a gallon at 11:38 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Prices touched $3.0324 earlier on concern that world leaders may be slow to increase funding to combat Europe’s debt- crisis.
Global policy makers are awaiting more details of a week- old rescue package before they commit fresh cash to the International Monetary Fund which could then lend to Europe’s bailout facility, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the end of a Group of 20 summit in Cannes, France. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it may take until February for a deal.
“The market seems to be swinging back and forth between ‘they’re solving things’ to ‘it’s only a matter of time before problems creep in again,’” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
Payrolls Increase
Payrolls rose by 80,000 and followed gains in the prior two months that were revised up by 102,000, Labor Department figures showed.
The jobs data also showed a pickup in hourly earnings, a drop in long-term joblessness and a decrease in so-called under- employment.
Today’s data follow a Labor Department report yesterday that showed claims for unemployment benefits slipped to a one- month low last week.
December-delivery gasoline gained 1.27 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $2.6545 a gallon on the exchange, after dropping as low as $2.633.
Regular gasoline at the pump, averaged nationwide, slipped 0.6 cent to $3.42 a gallon yesterday, according to AAA data.
To contact the reporter on this story: Barbara J Powell in Dallas at bpowell4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page