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Oil moves up after one-week decline

19 January 2010 08:28 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil rose for the first time in six days as the dollar weakened and some investors took the view a drop below $79 a barrel made futures attractive to buy, Bloomberg reported.
Oil snapped its longest decline since December as the U.S. currency fell to a four-week low against the yen, increasing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. Crude also gained on a report yesterday Chinaâ€™s imports may rise 15 percent this year as the second-largest energy consumer starts building the second phase of its strategic oil reserves.
Crude oil for February delivery climbed as much as 68 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $78.68 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $78.24 at 1:58 p.m. Singapore time. Futures dropped 5.7 percent last week, the first weekly decline in five, after U.S. fuel supplies rose. Yesterdayâ€™s trades will be combined with todayâ€™s because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the U.S.
February futures, which settled at $78 a barrel Jan. 15, expire tomorrow. The more widely traded March contract gained as much as 66 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $79.03.
The U.S. currency traded at 90.44 yen as of 2:24 p.m. in Tokyo from 90.78 yesterday in New York, after slipping to 90.35, the lowest since Dec. 21. It was little changed against the euro after rising to $1.4384 yesterday.
Brent crude oil for March settlement rose as much as 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $77.29 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $77 at 1:54 p.m. Singapore time.