Oil Up on Low US Jobless Claims and Middle Eastern Tension

Bloomberg reported that oil rose as a result of continued concern that tension between Syria and Turkey may disrupt shipments out of the Middle East. The news that only 339,000 people in the United States filed first-time applications for unemployment benefits also buoyed prices.

As quoted in the market news:

Futures rose as much as 1.9 percent as Labor Department figures showed that claims for jobless benefits fell to 339,000 last week, the lowest level since February 2008. Turkey seized cargo on a Syrian passenger plane forced to land yesterday. Price gains eased after a government report showed that U.S. supplies climbed last week as output rose to a 17-year high.

Crude oil for November delivery rose 91 cents, or 1 percent, to $92.16 a barrel at 11:46 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 7.4 percent from this time last year. The contract traded at $92.57 a barrel before release of the Energy Department’s inventory report at 11 a.m.

Brent oil for November settlement climbed 82 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $115.15 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark touched a $23.51-a- barrel premium to West Texas Intermediate oil traded in New York, the highest intraday level since Oct. 21, 2011, according to Bloomberg calculations of exchange data.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.