Oil prices surge 7%, US crude rises above $41

Oil prices jumped 7 percent on Thursday after a rally in equity markets and an unexpected fall in U.S. crude inventories.

World stock markets rose as Chinese shares recovered on hopes that government measures to stimulate the economy would pay off, while the dollar strengthened as risk aversion eased.

The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the second quarter on solid domestic demand. Gross domestic product expanded at a 3.7 percent annual pace instead of the 2.3 percent rate reported last month, the Commerce Department said on Thursday in its second GDP estimate.
Front-month Brent, the global oil benchmark, was up $2.84 at $45.98 a barrel by 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 GMT). U.S. crude was up $2.77 at $41.37 a barrel. 

Phillip Futures oil analyst Daniel Ang in Singapore said he saw the current rally as a pause in a downward trend, rather than a longer term shift upwards. 

"We would not underestimate the current bearish momentum and still believe that it is possible to see prices break supports of $38 and $45 for WTI and Brent," Ang said.
(by Reuters)

Read More....