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Oil heads for $79 on Dec. 29

29 December 2009 07:10 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil was little changed near a five-week high on signs the global economy is recovering from the worst recession since World War II, Bloomberg reported.
Oil rose 0.9 percent yesterday as U.S. retail sales climbed during the holiday season and Chinese government officials said economic growth will exceed 8 percent in 2009.
Crude oil for February delivery was at $78.66 a barrel, down 11 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1 p.m. Singapore time. Oil gained 72 cents to $78.77 yesterday, the highest close since Nov. 18, and has advanced 76 percent in 2009.
The dollar traded near a two-month high against the yen on speculation the Federal Reserve will start retracting emergency stimulus measures as the economy recovers. A stronger dollar reduces the appeal of commodities as an inflation hedge.
The dollar bought 91.74 yen at 12:43 p.m. in Tokyo from 91.63 in New York yesterday. The U.S. currency rose to 91.87 yen on Dec. 22, the strongest level since Oct. 27.
Brent crude for February settlement was at $77.38 a barrel, down 6 cents, on the ICE Futures Europe exchange at 1:02 p.m. Singapore time. It rose $1.01, or 1.3 percent yesterday, to $77.32 a barrel.