Oil Up on Record Volume
Crude oil prices advanced for the second consecutive day Thursday as trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange shattered the previous volume record.
Speculators appeared to be coming into the market, as many consider rallies an opportunity to sell oil contracts and buy them back later at a profit if prices fall, said Nauman Barakat, a petroleum analyst in New York with Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co.
Volume was estimated at 36,000 contracts, a spokeswoman for the exchange said. The previous record was 25,000 contracts.
The agreement that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reached abated fears of an immediate price war, and supported oil prices Wednesday and Thursday, Barakat said.
“On a longer term basis, OPEC cannot hold together,” said Barakat, “and prices will collapse sooner, rather than later.”
Heating oil also rose, as the weather forecast for below-normal temperatures in the Northeastern United States raised speculation of increased consumption, said John Hill, a petroleum analyst in New York with Merrill Lynch Futures.
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