Investing.com – Crude oil futures extended gains on Monday, rallying to a seven-day high as prices were boosted by hopes European leaders will reach a deal to contain the region’s debt crisis and amid growing fears over a disruption to Iranian supplies.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD99.34 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, rallying 2.66%.
It earlier rose by as much as 3.5% to trade at USD100.73 a barrel, the highest price since November 17.
Appetite for riskier assets strengthened after reports that European Union leaders were moving closer to agreeing on a fiscal pact to halt the spread of the region’s debt crisis.
The pact, if agreed, would make budget discipline legally binding and enforceable by European authorities and would give the European Central Bank more scope to undertake large scale bond purchases.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, retreated 1% to trade at 79.03. Dollar-denominated oil futures contracts tend to rise when the dollar falls, as this makes oil cheaper for buyers in other currencies.
Meanwhile, growing prospects of a European Union ban on Iranian oil imports provided further support.
On Friday, a French foreign ministry spokesman said that France was seeking to impose "unprecedented" sanctions on Iran, including a possible ban on oil imports from the country.
The spokesman added that the foreign ministry was in talks with fellow European Union members ahead of a December 1 summit of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Iran is the world’s fourth largest oil producer and the second biggest exporter among OPEC members.
Crude prices drew further support from a robust start to the U.S. holiday shopping season. The U.S. National Retail Federation said that Thanksgiving weekend sales in the U.S. rose 16% from a year earlier to a record USD52.4 billion.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery surged 2.5% to trade at USD109.03 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD9.69 a barrel.
Ongoing political tensions in other oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa are helping underpin Brent prices. The Arab League imposed sanctions on Syria over the weekend, while civil unrest continued in Egypt and Yemen.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at USD99.34 a barrel during U.S. morning trade, rallying 2.66%.
It earlier rose by as much as 3.5% to trade at USD100.73 a barrel, the highest price since November 17.
Appetite for riskier assets strengthened after reports that European Union leaders were moving closer to agreeing on a fiscal pact to halt the spread of the region’s debt crisis.
The pact, if agreed, would make budget discipline legally binding and enforceable by European authorities and would give the European Central Bank more scope to undertake large scale bond purchases.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, retreated 1% to trade at 79.03. Dollar-denominated oil futures contracts tend to rise when the dollar falls, as this makes oil cheaper for buyers in other currencies.
Meanwhile, growing prospects of a European Union ban on Iranian oil imports provided further support.
On Friday, a French foreign ministry spokesman said that France was seeking to impose "unprecedented" sanctions on Iran, including a possible ban on oil imports from the country.
The spokesman added that the foreign ministry was in talks with fellow European Union members ahead of a December 1 summit of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
Iran is the world’s fourth largest oil producer and the second biggest exporter among OPEC members.
Crude prices drew further support from a robust start to the U.S. holiday shopping season. The U.S. National Retail Federation said that Thanksgiving weekend sales in the U.S. rose 16% from a year earlier to a record USD52.4 billion.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for January delivery surged 2.5% to trade at USD109.03 a barrel, with the spread between the Brent and crude contracts standing at USD9.69 a barrel.
Ongoing political tensions in other oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa are helping underpin Brent prices. The Arab League imposed sanctions on Syria over the weekend, while civil unrest continued in Egypt and Yemen.