Crude oil futures saw an up tick in Asia on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar failed to sustain its rally and positive news from China boosted investors' confidence.
The weakening U.S. dollar has alarmed investors as the greenback has seen rapid fluctuations in recent days. There are also widespread speculations that currencies and equities will continue to swing thus making oil the best investment.
Light, sweet crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange, for the November deliveries, surged up to 69 cents and traded at $82.36 a barrel at 0702 GMT, on the Globex electronic session. London prices also rose as the November Brent crude on the ICE Futures exchange jumped 52 cents to $84.02 a barrel.
China crude imports in September reached a record high as the world's second-largest oil consumer imported 23.29 million metric tons. This amounts to about 5.7 million barrels a day, which is significantly higher than the 17.2 million tons imported in the year-ago period.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will be meeting Thursday but no major news is expected to come out of the conference as the members are satisfied with the current price range.
U.S. oil inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration will also be released Thursday and is expected to create ripples in the oil futures. According to industry insiders, crude oil stockpiles are expected to rise by 1.5 million barrels in the week to Oct. 8, while gasoline inventories will see a decline of 1.3 million barrels in the same period.
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for November rose 121 points to $2.1360 a gallon with the November heating oil seeing a hike of 115 points to trade at $2.2740.
