Speculations rife of credit-easing by US Federal Reserve, dollar weakens, oil rises

01-Nov-10

Oil for December delivery rose to US$81.96 on the Nymex while Brent crude for December settlement rose to US$83.36 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Speculations of another round of credit-easing measures by the US Federal Reserve to help spur growth in the country has pushed oil prices up, and pulled the dollar down. A fresh new round of large-scale asset purchases, or quantitative easing is expected to be announced in a meeting schedule this week. The dollar dropped for a third day against the Euro, reaching US$1.3997 per euro. A weaker U.S. currency increases the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment. October saw manufacturing in China expand at the fastest pace in six months, implying that economic growth is withstanding cooling efforts by the government.