Oil prices rise sharply on U.S. jobs growth reportMay 6, 2013 - 14:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The price of oil rose sharply Monday as an increase in U.S. hiring raised the prospect of higher energy demand, AP reports. Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 72 cents to $96.33 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $1.62 to finish at $95.61 on Friday after U.S. employers added a surprisingly solid 165,000 jobs in April. That drove down the unemployment rate to a four-year low of 7.5 percent and suggested the U.S. economic recovery may be gathering pace. Demand for oil also tends to increase when the economy picks up, as factories produce more, people drive more and businesses use more fuel to ship goods. Rising oil prices are “just a matter of improving sentiment around global growth,” said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG in Melbourne. Brent crude, which is used to set prices of oil from the North Sea used by many U.S. refiners, was up 58 cents to $104.77 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. 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 | Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. EU welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan “progress” The EU has welcomed “progress” made in the framework of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation process. Belarus opposition leader slams Lukashenko for Karabakh trip Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has harshly criticized the visit of Lukashenko to Karabakh. Mkhitaryan raises arrest of former Karabakh leaders in Azerbaijan Inter Milan star Henrikh Mkhitaryan has shared a news story about the extension of the arrest of former Karabakh leaders. |