Oil nears US$50 as investors eye hopeful demand recovery [CFP]

Crude oil rose to near US$50 a barrel on Thursday as investors found hope of demand recovery in upbeat corporate earnings.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose 73 cents to settle at US$49.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that during the week ended April 10, U.S. natural gas inventories rose by 21 billion cubic feet to 1.695 trillion cubic feet, which sent the current storage level 23 percent higher than the five-year average.

Oil nears US$50 as investors eye hopeful demand recovery [CFP]

Economic data did not offer much optimism as well. The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 10.8 percent in March to the second lowest level on record. And the Labor Department said the number of people continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose above 6 million for the first time.

But investors paid more attention to the better-than-expected corporate results of the first quarter, regarding them as signs that some sectors of the economy may be stabilizing. The world's top mobile phone maker Nokia saw sales rising in the first three months this year and maintained its outlook. Major bank JPMorgan Chase Co.'s first quarter profit surpassed analysts' expectation by 25 percent.

In London, Brent crude for June delivery rose 62 cents to settle at US$53.06 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2009)