Oil rebounded from a two-month low as the euro rose against the dollar and tensions between Syria and Turkey fanned concern that Middle East output will be disrupted.
Prices increased as much as 1.6 percent and the euro gained after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the common currency is “irreversible.”
The ECB is ready to start buying government bonds as soon as the necessary conditions are fulfilled, Draghi said today at a press conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia, after policy makers left the benchmark rate at a historic low of 0.75 percent.
Turkey’s parliament authorized the government to order military action in Syria. A mortar bomb fired across the border yesterday killed five Turks. The killings yesterday in the Turkish town of Akcakale highlight the risk that neighboring countries could be drawn into Syria’s civil war. Turkey has backed the rebels fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad and allowed them to use bases inside Turkey. Turkish artillery units fired yesterday and today at Syrian military targets.
Crude for November delivery gained to $89.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil plunged 4.1 percent yesterday after the Energy Department reported U.S. production climbed to the highest level in more than 15 years while fuel usage decreased.
Brent oil for November settlement advanced $1.47, or 1.4 percent, to $109.64 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
