OIL PRICE depressed STRENGTHENING DOLLAR STIMULUS AFTER JAPAN
New York (Antara Bali) - World oil prices fell on Friday (Saturday morning GMT), dragged down by a stronger dollar after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) unexpectedly launched a massive stimulus that triggers rally strong in global stock markets.
The benchmark US light sweet crude or West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in December, fell 58 cents to
closed at 80.54 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent North Sea crude for December delivery settled at 85.86 dollars a barrel in London, down 38 cents from Thursday's closing levels.
BoJ surprised markets on Friday, announced it will add up to 20 trillion yen (182 billion dollars) for the current asset purchase scheme, bringing it to 80 trillion yen per year in an effort to stimulate growth.
The dollar rose sharply against the yen after BOJ action, and also
against the euro.
Stronger dollar makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies.
The decline in crude oil prices have followed the rise in the dollar since Wednesday (29/10) when the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program ended the magnitude, rate the US economy has been good enough to run without the stimulus.
A report on US economic growth for the third quarter were better than expected on Thursday, with an expansion of 3.5 percent, the dollar is also adding more "bullish" and weaker oil prices.
Crude oil prices also retreated amid rising global supplies.
Crude oil production from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose by 53,000 barrels to 30.974 million barrels per day, according to a Bloomberg survey, reaching 14-month highs. OPEC production accounts for about 40 percent of the world's oil supply.
For the week ending October 24, crude oil stocks in the United States increased by 36,000 barrels to 8.97 million barrels per day, according to the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), the highest level since 1986.
National crude oil stocks in the United States increased by two million barrels to 379.7 million barrels last week. Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI, rose 800,000 barrels to 21.4 million barrels.
On the economic front, US consumer data failed encouraging support crude prices.
US consumer confidence rose in October to the highest level since July 2007, according to a survey released Friday. Figures final index of consumer sentiment Thomson Reuters / University of Michigan for October rose to 86.9, from 84.6 in September, beating market expectations.(MFD)
