Brent oil price trading near $80 on Greece, US data

4 March 2010 4 March 2010

BonTrade

Brent oil prices are trading near the $80 mark on Thursday as Greece’s latest budget balancing pledges yesterday helped restore some appetite for risk, boosting the euro against the US dollar and helping oil prices shoot higher.

Also, US Light oil futures was trading near seven week highs of around $81 this morning as US demand edged up with a recovering economy.

“The oil market will trade in a range of $75 to $85 at least for the next two months, and it will possibly go above $85 by the middle of this year, depending on economic recovery,” said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity derivatives manager at brokerage Newedge in Japan.

The US dollar had fallen against the euro on Wednesday as concerns eased about deficits in European countries. A weaker US dollar tends to support oil prices, making dollar denominated commodities cheaper for other currency holders.