Economic optimism boosts oil price

Oil rose for a second straight session yesterday as supply concerns and economic optimism fueled a rebound from a 7 percent slide earlier in the week. Brent crude topped $ 111 a barrel in early US activity. That followed a three-day sell-off through Wednesday that had sent prices from over $ 116 down to $ 108 due to rising US inventories and efforts by the Kingdom to tame prices, Reuters reported. Oil scraped lows not seen since early August on Thursday, before turning positive in a move that could be a sign the market is establishing a new range. “I’m not really sure we’ve seen a turnaround yet. Oftentimes when the market sees a lot of liquidation pressure it rebounds when that dissipates,” Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy, said. “Going forward, I think the market has established a bit of a new trading range from $ 90 to $ 100 (a barrel for US crude) and it’s trying to find a value here and settle down.” Oil found some support from optimism over a move by Spain toward reform measures in anticipation of a bailout package. Equities markets rose. November Brent futures traded up 98 cents to $ 111.01 a barrel at 1558 GMT, after touching highs of $ 111.58. Arabnews