Oil prices rise on economic outlook, weak dollar

Oil prices rose 2% on Thursday on a weaker dollar as fears of rising U.S. inflation eased while a steep fall in U.S. fuel stocks meant a crude glut would be short-lived as refiners restart in Texas after a rare freeze caused outages.

Brent crude oil futures for May rose $1.53, or 2.3%, to $69.43 a barrel by 11:44 a.m. ET (1644 GMT,) while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for April was up $1.37 or 2.1%, at $65.81.

“The complex has recovered back to above yesterday’s highs with major assistance from a weak dollar/strong equity combo,” Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates said.

“We feel that the energy complex could remain in a stall well into next week with WTI bounded roughly by parameters of about $63 to $68 before any renewed up-spike.”

U.S. Treasury yields fell on Thursday as concern about a strong pick-up in inflation eased and focus turned to an auction of 30-year government debt. The dollar fell for a third straight day and was at its lowest level in a week against a basket of currencies.