BEIJING - Oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange advanced on Monday morning of August 30 Beijing time, closing at the highest level in over a week. The rise was mainly due to an increase in US personal income and consumer spending. This boosted the US stock market and triggered expectations that energy demand would grow.
On the day, the price of light sweet crude oil futures for delivery in October on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) increased by $1.90, closing at $87.27 per barrel, a 2.2% increase. This marked the highest closing price since August 17, with intraday prices reaching as high as $87.62 per barrel. So far this year, NYMEX crude oil futures prices have fallen by 4.5%.
Brent crude oil futures for delivery in October on the London ICE Futures Europe Exchange rose by 52 cents, closing at $111.88 per barrel, a 0.5% increase. Calculated by closing price, the spread between Brent crude oil futures and NYMEX crude oil futures was $24.61 per barrel, which reached a historical high of $26.21 per barrel on August 19.
Carl Larry, President of Houston-based market research company Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC, said that optimism about the US economy and rising stock markets were the main factors driving up oil prices. According to a report released earlier today by the US Department of Commerce, US personal income increased by 0.3% in July, while consumer spending rose by 0.8%, primarily due to a significant increase in automobile purchases.
In other energy transactions on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gasoline futures for September delivery fell by 3 cents, closing at $2.91 per gallon (approximately $0.77 per liter), a 1% decrease. Heating oil futures for September delivery closed unchanged from last Friday at $3.01 per gallon (approximately $0.80 per liter). Natural gas futures for September delivery fell by 7 cents, closing at $3.86 per million British thermal units.