Oil prices rebound on better-than-expected job data

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Oil prices rebound on better-than-expected job data

(Xinhua) 08:07, November 22, 2013

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NEW YORK, Nov. 21-- Oil prices gained Thursday following the release of better-than-expected U.S. jobless claims data for last week.

The number of Americans who initially applied for jobless benefits was 323,000 in the week ending Nov. 16, a decrease of 21, 000 from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 344,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts had expected last week's claims to fall to 335,000.

The U.S. jobs data was bullish for the oil market as traders believed that the improving jobs picture is a positive sign for the broader economy of the country as a whole.

Investors are also keeping an eye on major oil producer Iran, which began talks with six world powers on Wednesday to seek a breakthrough in the long-standing standoff over its controversial nuclear program.

The world powers, namely the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain plus Germany, are expected to offer a gradual rollback of sanctions which have curbed its oil output since July 2012.

In comments supportive to oil prices in the long term, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Tuesday pledged to maintain the cental bank's easy monetary policies for as long as needed.

"The economy has made significant progress since the depth of the recession. However, we are still far from where we would like to be, and, consequently, it may be some time before monetary policy returns to more normal settings," Bernanke said.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery gained 1.59 U.S. dollars to settle at 95.44 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for January delivery moved up 2.02 dollars to close at 110.08 dollars a barrel.

（Editor：YaoChun、Liang Jun）