Oil Rises on QE3 Announcement

Reuters reported that oil prices increased following the US Federal Reserve’s announcement that until the job market improves, it will bolster the economy by buying $40 billion of mortgage debt per month.

As quoted in the market news:

Prices see-sawed after the statement, initially jumping $1 and then swinging lower before climbing back into positive territory on expectations the move would encourage investors to push money into riskier assets including commodities and equities, as they have after previous stimulus initiatives.

Front-month October Brent crude, which expires on Thursday, traded up 79 cents to $116.75 a barrel at 1:53 p.m. EDT (1753 GMT), marking the sixth straight session the international benchmark has traded higher. The more actively traded November contract gained 18 cents to trade at $115.51 a barrel.

U.S. crude rose 83 cents to $97.84 a barrel, off earlier highs of $98.58, the highest since $102.72 on May 4.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.