Oil Trades Near Weekly High on U.S. Economy, Shrinking Supplies

Oil traded near its highest in a week in New York on signs that the U.S. economy will be spared a recession and amid growing pressure on Iran to curtail its nuclear program.

Futures were little changed after rising as much as 1.3 percent. The American Petroleum Institute showed crude inventories dropped to the lowest in almost two years. Analysts in a Bloomberg News survey predicted the Energy Department will say today supplies fell 2.13 million barrels. The February contract surged 3.4 percent yesterday on U.S. housing data that beat estimates, unexpected growth in German business confidence and concern that shipments from Iran may be curbed.