Crude Oil Ends Higher, But Still Below $100

(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil ended higher Tuesday, on some upbeat manufactured durable goods orders data out of the U.S., brightening the demand growth outlook for oil, notwithstanding a strengthening dollar.

New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose much more than expected in November, with the increase partly reflecting a rebound in orders for transportation equipment, a Commerce Department report showed Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a Commerce Department report on Tuesday showed new home sales in the U.S. to have dropped in November, although were still better than what analysts anticipated.

Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, gained $0.31 or 0.3 percent to close at $99.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday.

Crude prices for February delivery scaled a high of $99.30 a barrel intraday and a low of $98.53.

Yesterday, oil settled lower on profit taking despite some some upbeat U.S. gross domestic product data with the dollar trending lower against a select band of currencies.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 80.52 on Tuesday, up from 80.45 late Monday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 80.62 intraday and a low of 80.43.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3673 on Tuesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3696 late Monday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3712 intraday and a low of $1.3656.

In economic news, new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose much more than expected in November, a report from the Commerce Department revealed Tuesday. Durable goods orders in November surged 3.5 percent following a revised 0.7 percent decrease in October. Economists expected orders to increase by about 2.0 percent compared to the 1.6 percent drop reported for the previous month. The increase partly reflects a rebound in orders for transportation equipment, which surged 8.4 percent in November after tumbling 3.5 percent in October.

Meanwhile, another Commerce Department report on Tuesday showed new home sales in November dropped, although sales were still above estimates on an upward revision to the October data. New home sales fell 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 in November from the revised October rate of 474,000. Economists expected sales to climb up to 450,000 from the 444,000 originally reported for the previous month.

From Europe, U.K. mortgage approvals increased significantly in November as housing schemes boosted demand from first-time buyers, data from British Bankers' Association revealed Tuesday. Mortgages approved in November for house purchases increased to 45,044 from 43,315 in October, exceeding the expected level of 44,400.

A leading indicator of eurozone's economic activity increased further in November, signaling improvement in the region's growth prospects. The Conference Board's leading economic index increased 0.5 percent month-on-month to 110.4. This comes after a 0.4 percent increase in October and a 0. 5 percent rise in September.