Investor confidence drives up oil prices 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The prices of the US oil futures have seen a noticeable rise due to investor confidence which hit a five-year high in November, an economic reports showed on Saturday.

The prices of petrol futures went up despite worries about a possible financial crisis that could be triggered by the planned tax hikes and public spending cuts, said the Kuwait-based International Financial Brokerage Group (IFBG) in its weekly report.

The Brent crude futures lost USD 1 per barrel on Friday driven by losses of the stock markets in the United States and Europe. However, the US stocks went up by the end of the week after US President Barack Obama invited the Congress leaders to the White House for consultation on the planned tax hikes and public spending cuts.

The reported increase in the US wholesale inventories and the increase in investor confidence in September defuse concerns about the prospects of the US financial policy, the report noted.

Reports about US plans to bring into force as of January 1, 2013, the tax hikes and cut down public spending by USD 600 billion a year, pushed down the main index of the stock market in the last two trading sessions by 2.7 percent.

Yesterday the NYMEX West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil Price for December delivery closed up USD 0.98 at USD 86.07 per barrel while the Brent oil futures for December delivery edged higher by USD 2.15 pb at USD109.40 pb., the report added.