Oil rose, rebounding from its biggest weekly loss in three months, amid optimism that an agreement to rescue Ireland's banks may reduce European sovereign-debt concerns.
Futures retraced some of last week's 4 per cent slump after Ireland applied for a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to save its banks, strengthening the euro and boosting commodities.
The loan package “ has provided a little bit of optimism for the market,” said David Taylor, a market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The Irish debt situation has been contained for the moment.”
The January contract gained as much as 42 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $US82.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was recently at $US82.36. It slipped 44 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $US81.98 on Nov. 19. Futures are up 3.7 per cent this year.
Crude fell at the end of last week after China ordered banks to raise reserves in a move that may slow growth and crimp fuel demand in the world's largest energy-consuming country.
Brent crude for January settlement advanced as much as 38 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $US84.72 a barrel, on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. The contract dropped 71 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $US84.34 on Nov. 19.