OIL FUTURES: Crude Ends At One-Month High On Weaker Dollar
By Madalina Iacob Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES / Wall Street Journal
July 31, 2009
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Crude-oil futures settled at a one-month high Friday as the dollar plunged against major currencies, signaling a renewed appetite among investors for assets that stand to benefit from an economic recovery.
Light, sweet crude for September delivery settled $2.51, or 3.8%, higher at $69.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled $1.59, or 2.3%, higher at $71.70 a barrel.
The move from the safe haven of the dollar and into crude began soon after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. gross domestic product had dropped by 1% in the second quarter, less than economists had expected and a far milder contraction than the 6.4% decline seen in the previous quarter. Expectations that the economy is turning the corner received a second boost when a survey of Chicago-area economic activity offered its best results since September 2008. The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago, which conducted the survey, predicts the recession will end by December 2009.