Oil moves higher after jobless claims, pipeline shutdown

10 September 2010

Written by Bob Burton.

Crude oil prices were climbing on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (September 10th), driven higher after a report showing unemployment claims fell in the US last week.

Economists polled by Bloomberg had expected jobless claims figures to rise by 19,000 to 470,000, but the Labor Department report showed a decline of 27,000, improving confidence in America's economic recovery.

As such, crude oil prices were trading back above $75 a barrel this morning, up as much as $1.55, while heating oil prices were also higher above $2.087 a gallon.

Despite a strong start to trading yesterday, both crude and heating oil lost ground after a report from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries forecast weakened demand through to the end of the year.

However, the commodities found support after a leak forced downstream firm Enbridge to shut down the largest pipeline supplying the US with Canadian crude.

It remains unclear how long it will take to bring the pipeline back online.

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