NEW YORK: Crude-oil has gained 4% to reclaim the $50-a-barrel level, as better-than-expected jobless claims data in the US.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude CLH5, +1.39% rose $2.03, or 4.2%, to settle at $50.48 a barrel. Prices lost more than double that amount in the previous session. bounced off a 14-year low, boosting hopes ahead of nonfarm payroll data Friday, said Matt Smith, a commodity analyst at Schneider Electric. See Economic calendar. The its growth forecast.Signs of economic improvement may lead to a boost in demand for energy, which may help reduce the glut of US oil supplies.
US oil futures had tallied a gain of 19% within a span of four trading sessions that ended Tuesday, raising hopes among oil-market bulls that prices had bottomed. But a jump in US crude supplies to their highest level in 80 years sent oil prices down sliding nearly 9% on Wednesday.
