Investing.com - Financial Markets Worldwide
Get 40% Off
Get 40% Off
🎁 Free Gift Friday: Copy Legendary Investors' Portfolios in One ClickCopy for Free

Brent Soars As Dollar Slides

ByBenzinga
Published 07/11/2013, 10:33 AM
Updated 07/09/2023, 06:31 AM

Brent crude oil rose to a near three month high on Thursday after the dollar slid on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments. The commodity traded at $108.43 at 5:07 GMT on Thursday morning.

Since the Fed announced in June that it was planning to taper its asset-buying plan as the US economy improved, the dollar has been on an upward climb. Following the bank's meeting, the minutes revealed that some of the Fed's board members wanted to see a larger improvement in the labor market before the bank pulled back.

On Wednesday, Bernanke echoed those concerns by saying that the bank isn't likely to cut back on stimulus for the remainder of the year. He said the Fed was going to continue with accommodative policies and that there could still be some weakness in the labor market that unemployment figures aren't showing.

The dollar's decline has helped boost Brent prices, but because the commodity was already climbing, it didn't rise as sharply as others like gold and copper, which jumped 2 percent.

More Good News
Adding to Brent's strength was data from the Energy Information Administration, which showed that the US' economic recovery was finally translating into increased oil demand. Reuters reported that the EIA report on Wednesday showed that US oil stocks were down 10 million barrels for the second week in a row. The report also pointed out that refinery demand had increased to its highest in six years. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries optimistically predicted that the strengthening global economy was likely to increase oil demand next year.

The organization is expecting demand to increase by 1 million barrels per day in 2014.

(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads .

Latest comments

Install Our App
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.