Oil Poised for Weekly Gain on Optimism About Economic Recovery

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil in New York was poised for a second week of gains as reports on jobless claims, housing and manufacturing added to evidence the economy is recovering in the U.S., the world’s biggest energy consumer.

Oil rose this week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the worst recession in seven decades has probably ended. U.S. crude stockpiles dropped to the lowest since January, a Sept. 16 Energy Department report showed.

“What we’ve had recently is a lot of relatively good U.S. economic data,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. “The situation is that U.S. demand is stabilizing.”

Crude oil for October delivery was at $72.29 a barrel, down 18 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 9:04 a.m. Sydney time. Oil is up 4.3 percent this week, and 62 percent this year.

Housing starts in the U.S. rose to the highest level in nine months, the Commerce Department said yesterday, led by construction of multifamily dwellings. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its general economic index jumped more than forecast to 14.1 in September from 4.2 in August.

“Housing starts were slightly positive, building permits a little more so, and initial jobless claims were down,” Moore said. “Generally speaking, positive numbers.”

Jobless Claims

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell unexpectedly last week, a sign the labor market is deteriorating at a slower pace. Applications dropped by 12,000 to 545,000 in the week ended Sept. 12, from a revised 557,000 the week before, Labor Department data showed yesterday.

Stockpiles of crude oil in the U.S. dropped 4.73 million barrels to 332.8 million last week, the Energy Department report showed.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.3 percent in New York after closing at the highest level since Oct. 3 on Sept. 16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 7.79 points, or less than 0.1 percent.

Brent crude oil for November settlement fell 12 cents to end the session at $71.55 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange yesterday.