Brent crude prices rose to a four-month high of $43.06, yesterday, as a rally in wider commodities markets encouraged buying ahead of a meeting of oil producers in Doha next Sunday. The meeting is aimed at freezing current output levels. Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were up 92 cents at $42.86 a barrel, having touched a session high of $43.06, the highest level since December 7. The gains build on last week’s rally, when crude rose 6 per cent in one session on the back of a drop in the rig count of U.S. drillers to its lowest since November 2009. U.S. WTI crude also rose, yesterday, gaining 82 cents to $40.54 a barrel and touching an intra-day high of $40.75, near a three-week high.
“All commodities are going up. It could be (investors) buying into dips every now and then as people are looking for opportunities to get long,” Natixis commodity strategist Abhishek Deshpande said. Gold prices also touched their highest level in almost three weeks, while silver and platinum were up more than 2 per cent.
A weaker U.S. dollar gave impetus to buyers as commodities priced in the currency became cheaper to purchase. Oil traders continue to place hopes on the oil producers’ meeting to prop up crude prices that have been severely depressed by a global supply glut.
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