Oil rises to near $103 amid signs the U.S. economic recovery April 20, 2012 - 12:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil prices rose to near $103 a barrel Friday, April 20 in Asia amid signs the U.S. economic recovery remains uneven. According to AP, benchmark oil for May delivery was up 43 cents to $102.70 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 40 cents to settle at $102.27 in New York on Thursday. Brent crude for June delivery was up 25 cents at $118.25 per barrel in London. Companies such as Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group Inc., Southwest Airlines and Bank of America reported strong earnings Thursday. However, disappointing reports on U.S. jobs, housing and manufacturing weighed on investor confidence. On Thursday, an index of regional manufacturing compiled by the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve dropped sharply, and the National Association of Realtors said home sales fell 2.6 percent last month. The Labor Department also said applications for unemployment benefits dipped 2,000 to 386,000. When the number is above 375,000, investors take it as a sign that hiring isn't strong enough to lower the unemployment rate. Stock markets, which oil traders often look to as a measure of overall investor sentiment, fell in the U.S. on Thursday and in Asia on Friday. Crude has slid from $110 last month as tensions eased over Iran's nuclear program. Negotiators from Iran and six world powers met last week and agreed to meet again in May.   Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion.   Partner news |  Latest news U.S. “very clear” with Azerbaijan: “It’s time to make peace with Armenia”  James O'Brien has said that the United States is “very clear” with Azerbaijani that it is a time to make peace with Armenia.Destruction of Armenian heritage raised at PACE Member of the Armenian delegation to PACE, MP from the “I Have the Honor” bloc Hayk Mamijanyan delivered remarks at a PACE session.PACE adopts resolution on Armenia's commitment to reforms PACE welcomed the electoral reforms implemented by Armenia in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.Azerbaijan yet to respond to Armenia’s proposal to probe ceasefire violations Azerbaijan has not yet responded to Armenia’s proposal to create a mechanism for investigating ceasefire violations, Armen Grigoryan has said. |
