Off the wire
• News Analysis: Egypt counts on China as key partner in economy push  • Interview: Real EU energy union requires real political commitment by national gov'ts, says analyst  • Nuclear talks suspended, no framework agreement as deadline approaches  • Feature: Car dealers hoping for sales at Serbia's international motor show  • 1st LD Writethru: Gold rises on weak dollar  • Urgent: U.S. dollar falls after Fed statement  • Austria checks for membership of AIIB: FM spokesman  • Russian officials rail at EU sanctions decision, urging impartial stance on Ukraine crisis  • Urgent: Crude prices jump on weakening U.S. dollar  • Fighting uproots 120,000 people in Filipino Island of Mindanao: UN  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: Crude prices jump on weakening U.S. dollar

Xinhua, March 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Oil prices rallied Friday as U.S. dollar depreciated against other currencies. A weaker greenback made the dollar-priced crude less expensive and more attractive for buyers holding other currencies.

The U.S. dollar declined against other major currencies on Friday as investors were still digesting a dovish Federal Reserve statement released earlier this week.

The number of U.S. rigs actively drilling for oil and natural gas as of March 20 fell 56 rigs to 1,069, reported oil service company Baker Hughes Friday. These data supported crude prices as analysts believed that low crude prices forced U.S. shale oil producers to slow down the output.

U.S. crude production reached 9.419 million barrels a day last week, the highest level since 1983, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Energy Department's statistical arm.

U.S. crude stockpiles increased 9.6 million barrels to 458.5 million, 82.7 million barrels more than a year earlier. Meanwhile, inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the contract, gained 2.9 million barrels to 54.4 million barrels.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery gained 1.76 U.S. dollars to settle at 45.72 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery moved up 0.89 dollars to close at 55.32 dollars a barrel. Endite