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Commodities: Oil rises on upbeat data

Date: Wednesday 03 Mar 2010

Oil prices inched towards $80 a barrel on Tuesday as the dollar weakened and as investors cheered a raft of upbeat economic data from around the world.

Crude for April delivery rose 98 cents to settle at $79.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting a high of $80.95 earlier in the session

With US economic data thin on the ground, investors turned to data elsewhere. Australia’s central bank raised interest rates to 4% as the economic picture brightens.

Meanwhile the unemployment rate in Japan unexpectedly dropped to a 10-month low last month as the economic recovery picks up.

Investors also had their eye on figures from the American Petroleum Institute which said crude oil inventories for the week ended 26 February rose by a bigger than expected 2.67m barrels.

Wednesday brings the Energy Information Administration's weekly inventory report. Analysts have forecast a 1.1m build in crude stockpiles and a 160,000 barrel rise in gasoline stocks.

Oil prices have been flirting around the $80 a barrel mark as traders weigh up the global economic picture and demand levels.

Among precious metals gold for April delivery gained $19.10 to settle at $1,137.4 an ounce, a six week high. The yellow metal’s appeal was boosted as the euro strengthened against the dollar.

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