Oil rises to above $89 amid global stock rally
Oil prices rose to above $89 a barrel on Thursday in Asia as a global stock market rally boosted crude trader optimism that the U.S. may avoid a recession.
Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 32 cents to $89.13 at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude fell 9 cents to settle at $88.81 on Wednesday.
Crude has risen 17 percent from August 9 amid a growing consensus that the U.S. economy will see weak growth, but not contract, in the second half.
Some analysts are concerned a struggling U.S. economy will undermine crude demand.
Crude supplies increased by 5.3 million barrels last week, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report. Analysts expected oil supplies to decline by 1.2 million barrels, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.