Crude futures hit new highs despite US stock build

12 March 2008 16:41  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Crude prices rose to new record highs on Tuesday to take Brent crude on London's ICE Futures above $106.00/bbl  and NYMEX crude close to $110.00/bbl as the weak US dollar continued to fuel speculative trading in oil futures and despite a higher than expected build in crude stocks.

 

By 16:20 GMT, April Brent crude had hit a high of $106.39/bbl, a gain of $1.14/bbl over Tuesday's close of $105.25/bbl, before easing back to around $106.20/bbl.

 

At the same time, April NYMEX crude was trading around $109.55/bbl, having hit a high of $109.85/bbl, a gain of $1.10/bbl over the previous close.

 

This latest rally was due to further falls in the US dollar, hitting record lows against the euro as the markets continued to be concerned about the Federal Reserve’s chances of avoiding a recession.

 

The markets recovered losses posted earlier in the afternoon when the weekly US stock figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed a much larger than expected build in crude stocks, plus a build on gasoline stocks taking these to a 15-year high.

By: Giovanni Coiro
+44 20 8652 3214

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