Oil prices rise on strong US manufacturing data

01 May, 2012

LONDON: Oil prices rose Tuesday on robust US manufacturing data, while trading was muted owing to May Day holidays in many countries.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, jumped $1.18 to $106.05 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for June gained 33 cents to $119.80 in late London trading.

"Oil prices shot higher ... following a better-than-expected reading from US Manufacturing PMI," said David Morrison, senior strategist at GFT Markets trading group.

"This raised hopes that the US economy is stronger than indicated by recent data," he added.

US manufacturing activity unxpectedly expanded in April, according to a closely watched index released Tuesday.

The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index was at 54.8 percent in April, from a 53.4 percent reading in March.

Analysts had forecast a drop in the PMI reading to 53.0 percent.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012

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