Commodities: Surprise fall in crude stockpiles boosts oil
An unexpected fall in US crude inventories sent oil prices to a new high, helped by the enduring weakness of the US dollar.
Crude inventories in the US fell 3.1m barrels to 305.4m barrels in the week ending 29 February, confounding predictions of an increase of 2.1m barrels.
As expected, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept its production levels unchanged.
Crude for April delivery surged above $104, rising $5 to $104.52 at the close on NYMEX before rising further in after-hours electronic trading.
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The chief executive officer of Exxon, Rex Tillerson, said the ballooning cost of oil was driven more by speculative trading and the weak dollar than any imbalance between supply and demand.
On the metals exchanges gold was also hitting a new high, with the weakness of the dollar again playing its part in inflating the price. Gold for April delivery jumped $22.20 to $988.50 in New York trading, having risen as high as $995.20 earlier in the day.
Gold was joined in its advance by silver, which rallied strongly, and also by copper and platinum. Palladium, however, fell on the day.
