Bangkok - Oil prices rose Friday ahead of the release of US industrial production and manufacturing figures that analysts expect to show an improving economy.
Benchmark oil for April delivery was up 11 cents to $93.14 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 51 cents to close at $93.03 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.
Traders expect to see improvement in US industrial production for February when the Federal Reserve releases the details later Friday. Analysts at Capital Economics said in a market commentary that they expect a month-on-month increase of 0.6 percent.
“February's employment and hours worked data suggest that manufacturing output also increased,” the analysts said, “so we wouldn't be surprised to see something of a rebound in February.”
Additionally, they said they don't expect to see significant inflation when the Labor Department releases its figures, also due Friday.
Both indicators bode well for US growth, which could also boost both energy consumption and energy prices.
Oil rose slightly Thursday as US employment data supported the market, offsetting news about ample crude supplies and worries about the eurozone economy. Weekly US jobless claims fell by a greater-than-anticipated 10,000 to 332,000, helping to sustain hopes over the US labor market.
Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by US refineries, was up 9 cents to $109.05 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:
- Wholesale gasoline fell 0.5 cent to $3.125 a gallon.
- Heating oil rose 0.8 cent to $3.021 a gallon.
- Natural gas rose 3.7 cents to $3.849 per 1,000 cubic feet. - Sapa-AP