By Ben Sharples
(Bloomberg) -- Oil headed for a fourth week of gains in New York, matching the longest winning streak since July, as investors speculated that an international plan to lend dollars to banks may tame Europe’s credit crisis and support economic growth.
Futures were little changed after climbing 0.6 percent yesterday as the European Central Bank said it worked with the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank to extend three-month loans to euro-area banks. The premium of Brent oil to U.S. futures widened.
“News about a boost to European bank funding eased concerns about a slowing global economy,” John Peters, a senior economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note.
Crude for October delivery was at $89.22 a barrel, down 18 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:58 a.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday rose 49 cents to $89.40. Prices are up 2.3 percent this week and 20 percent higher the past year.
Brent oil for October settlement, which expired yesterday, gained $2.94, or 2.6 percent, to $115.34 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe Exchange. The European benchmark contract closed at a premium of $25.94 to U.S. futures, up from $23.49 on Sept. 14 and compared with a record settlement of $26.87 on Sept. 6.
--Editor: Paul Gordon
To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Melbourne at bsharples@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in Singapore at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net
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