SINGAPORE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Oil prices, up every day this
week, approached the highs for the year as markets focused on a
monthly U.S. jobs report due later on Friday, the last before
the Federal Reserve's new round of economic stimulus kicks in.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude for December <CLc1> touched $86.85 a barrel on
Friday, the highest in six months and just 30 cents away from
the 2010 peak of $87.15 on May 3. It was up 21 cents at $86.70
at 0050 GMT. ICE Brent <LCOc1> gained 28 cents to $88.28.
* The U.S. dollar fell to a 28-year low against the
Australian currency on Thursday and over a nine-month trough
versus the euro after Federal Reserve plans to buy more
Treasuries pushed U.S. yields lower and prompted investors to
seek returns elsewhere. []
* The Fed on Wednesday launched a new round of quantitative
easing, or government debt purchases, to support a struggling
U.S. economy, saying it would buy about $75 billion of Treasury
bonds per month through the end of June 2011 and could adjust
purchases depending on the pace of economic recovery.
* U.S. employment probably increased in October for the
first time since May, a Reuters survey showed, but too feeble
to signal a meaningful shift in the almost stagnant labor
market. That should leave the unemployment rate at an elevated
9.6 percent in October. []
* New U.S. claims for jobless aid rose last week and a
strong rebound in productivity in the third quarter showed
employers wringing more output from current workers rather
than hiring. []
* Global oil demand next year could bounce back to levels
last seen in 2007 as recovery from the deepest recession in
decades drives fuel use, but OPEC does not plan to add extra
capacity as more non-OPEC supply curbs the need. []
* An oil price of $90 a barrel would not hold back the
world economy, OPEC's secretary general said on Thursday, a
higher level than previously identified as posing no risk to
growth. []
* China's top refineries will process a record high volume
of crude oil in November after Beijing hiked fuel prices, as
domestic fuel stocks were running low and diesel shortages were
spreading in some regions. []
MARKETS NEWS
* The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB>, a global
commodities benchmark, rose above 312 points on Thursday to its
highest since October 2008. Gold, a traditional haven for
investors shunning dollars and hedging against inflation, hit a
new record high above $1,390 an ounce <XAU=> and oil climbed to
six-month peaks. []
* World stocks soared to highs last seen before Lehman
Brothers' collapse in 2008 and the dollar fell sharply on
Thursday on rising risk appetite in the afterglow of the
Federal Reserve's asset buying plan. []
* Japan's Nikkei rose 2 percent to a two-week high on
Friday, as exporters and resource shares gained. []
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday:
- 1230 U.S. Non-farm payrolls Oct <USNFAR=ECI>
- 1340 U.S. ECRI inflation Oct <USECRI=ECI>
- 1400 U.S. Pending home sales Sep <USNCH=ECI>
- 1430 U.S. ECRI index Weekly <USECRW=ECI>
- 1900 U.S. Consumer credit Sep <USCRED=ECI>
- Japan BOJ rate decision Nov <JPINTR=ECI>
(Reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; Editing by Manash Goswami)
