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Crude Oil rose to a six-month high above US$66 per barrel on Friday, marking its largest monthly percentage gain in more than a decade, after U.S., Japanese and Indian data suggested the economic downturn may be easing. Crude Oil prices jumped around 30 percent this month, the largest monthly rise since March 1999, buoyed by expectations of a global economic recovery later this year, which helped push stock markets higher. US Crude Oil for July delivery settled up US$1.23 at US$66.31, its highest settlement since November 4, after earlier hitting US$66.47, the highest intraday trade since November 5.London Brent crude settled up US$1.13 at US$65.52, its highest settle since November 4. The US$ hit a five-month low against a basket of other currencies. A weak US$ makes Crude Oil cheaper for holders of other currencies and tends to support prices

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Crude Oil prices rose more than US$2bbl last Friday, to hit a four week high on support from improved US Consumer confidence and evidence of record levels of compliance by OPEC with its agreed output cuts. US Crude Oil futures jumped US$2.08 to settle at US$53.20bbl, after hitting US$53.65, the highest since April 3. Brent Crude settled up US$2.05 at US$52.85.The gains came after a survey showed consumers in the USA, the world’s top energy user, felt more confident about the economy in April than at any time since September 2008. “This should push this market higher,” said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president at Macquarie Futures USA. Equity markets also gained, continuing a strong trend in recent weeks of commodity markets riding in tandem with Wall Street and other global shares.

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OPEC monthly Crude Oil market report hinted last Friday ahead of a regular meeting to decide whether to make further production cuts. The report, compiled by analysts of OPEC’s secretariat, said the world economy was in a “dreadful situation” and that financial and macroeconomic indicators in the first quarter continued to paint “a very gloomy outlook across the globe.”

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Crude Oil prices fell alongside the broader markets last week on the limited details released about a Treasury Department program to raise more than US$1T in public and private funds to free up credit markets. The Dow Jones industrials lost 400 pts after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the rescue plan last Tuesday, and light, sweet crude for March delivery sank by US$2.01 bbl to settle at US$37.55bbl on the New York Mercantile Exchange. US President Barack Obama’s US$838B economic recovery plan, which was approved by the US Senate did little to reverse Crude Oil’s downturn. Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., said investors appear concerned about the inflationary effects of massive government spending.

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Last week, Crude Oil fell below US$40 bbl after news of mounting job losses in the USA augured for still weaker demand in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Nearly 600,000 people found themselves out of work in the USA last month, many more than Wall Street economists had expected. The economic slowdown has curbed demand for fuel around the world and knocked US Crude Oil briefly beneath US$39 bbl for the first time in nearly three weeks.” It gets worse and worse and worse,” said Greg Salvaggio of Tempus Consulting in Washington. “The economy is just falling into oblivion.” US light crude for March delivery was down US$1.48 at US$39.69 bbl last Friday the lowest since January 20. London Brent, which usually trades below its US counterpart, fell US$1.03 to US$45.43 bbl at the same time.

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This is what happened last week…

Last Tuesday began what the world community views as a major event in US history, the inauguration of Barack H. Obama as its 44th President and its 1st Black American President.
Some of President Obama’s executive orders on his 1st day in office:

1. A freeze on salaries for White House staff earning $100,000 or more, about 100 people in all.

2. New Freedom of Information Act rules, making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.

3. Tighter ethics rules governing when administration officials can work on issues on which they previously lobbied governmental agencies, and banning them from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving government service.

The week in the markets, however, continued to be bathed in the glow of uncertainty within the financial sector and coupled with Qs about the timing of the economic recovery.
Couple that with headlines announcing that China’s Y 2008 Q 4 GDP contracted from 9% to 6.8%, the UK reporting a GDP decline of 1.5%, the largest since 1980, US housing starts fell to their lowest level on record, and initial jobless claims returned to Christmas levels, matching the 26 yr. high of 589,000 set in December 2008.
Though Microsoft disappointed, IBM and AAPL rang the bell with GOOG beating too, and coming in better than expected.
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