Oil prices rose Wednesday after six straight days of trading declines. Prices closed at $74.07 a barrel, up $2.10, or close to 3%, for the day. Still, prices remain down about 9% for 2010 and about 15% from their high-water mark of $86.15 a barrel, set in early May, just after BP's (BP: 33.19, +1.28, +4.01%) catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. That's a worrisome indicator for the pace and health of the global economic recovery.
Because crude prices reflect changes in energy demand, they're a good bellwether for growth, but a host of factors, from the spill and offshore drilling moratorium in the Gulf to a slowdown in China, have left oil prices without a clear direction. Energy experts say that as long as crude prices keep bobbing up and down like the tar balls washing toward Louisiana beaches, investors can expect few answers and a bit more pessimism. (more)
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