Oil hovers above $106 as Iran tensions mount
22.05.12
&Nbsp;PABLO GORONDI (Associated Press)
Oil prices rose to nine-month highs above $106 a barrel Thursday, driven by market confidence in Germany and continued concerns about tensions over Iran 's nuclear program.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for April delivery was up 10 cents to $106.38 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange . The contract rose 3 cents to settle at $106.28, the highest since May, in New York on Wednesday.
In London, Brent crude was up $1.17 to $124.07 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
German business confidence rose for the fourth consecutive month in February, raising hopes that Europe's biggest economy is growing again after a contraction of 0.2 percent in the last quarter of 2011.
Despite the rising prices, there seemed to be ample supplies available. A report showed U.S. crude stockpiles growing more than expected last week, suggesting demand remains sluggish.
The American Petroleum Institute said late Wednesday that crude inventories rose 3.6 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted an increase of 1.7 million barrels.
Source: Newsday