U.S. Housing Data Spurs Late Gains in Oil Prices after Mixed Week

The benchmark West Texas Intermediate contract gained $1.42 Friday to end the week at $85.12 a barrel, compared with the benchmark's finish of $83.24 in the previous week.

An unexpectedly strong gain of 27% in U.S. new housing sales in March - the strongest monthly gain in nearly five years - galvanized a market looking for any sign of a pickup in U.S. demand for oil. Stock markets also advanced on the news, led by energy stocks.

The week started with oil prices taking a hit in the wake of Iceland's volcano grounding most northern European flights and then bounced back on Tuesday as authorities began to ease flight restrictions. Some analysts also cited lingering concern about U.S. fraud charges against Goldman Sachs for Monday's decline, after the announcement of the civil suit last Friday pushed most markets down.

The IMF said in its World Economic Outlook that relatively strong economic growth would keep upward pressure on most commodities prices. However, the multilateral lending agency cautioned that in the case of oil, OPEC could increase its production if it wanted to keep oil prices in the $70 to $80 trading range.

Source: http://www.oilprice.com/article-us-housing-data-spurs-late-gains-in-oil-prices-after-mixed-week-304.html

By. Darrell Delamaide for Oilprice.com who focus on Geopolitical analysis, Energy markets, Crude oil, Alternative Energy and Finance. They also have a Free Investment intelligence newsletter that informs investors of the most breaking events taking place around the world. Visit http://www.oilprice.com

---

This article is intended solely for information purposes. The opinions are those of the author only. Please conduct further research and consult your financial advisor before making any investment/trading decision. No responsibility can be accepted for losses that may result as a consequence of trading on the basis of this analysis.

Information, charts or examples contained in this lesson are for illustration and educational purposes only. It should not be considered as advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument. We do not and cannot offer investment advice. For further information please read our disclaimer.