NEW YORK: Oil prices rose yesterday as traders grew bullish amid a rally in U.S. stock markets, even as U.S. pipeline bottlenecks and European economic concerns threatened to weigh on oil markets.
US crude for March delivery rose 80 cents to settle at $96.66 a barrel. The March contract expires today. US oil futures rose even as the operators of the 400,000 barrel per day Seaway Pipeline from their Oklahoma delivery point to southern Texas said the line would not be able to reach full capacity in the “foreseeable future,” potentially leading to surplus crude in the US Midwest.
Brent for April rose 14 cents to $117.52 a barrel, tracking US futures higher in afternoon trade, after earlier falling by more than 80 cents a barrel on European economic concerns.
Expectations that economic growth in France will miss the government’s 2013 target and caution about Italy’s election added to investor uncertainty about the outlook for the euro zone and weighed on crude prices yesterday. Brent fell by as much as 83 cents a barrel earlier.
Reuters
