Oil on the Rise

In Europe, oil hovered above a four-month high today at $52 a barrel, recouping earlier losses as the market sought a new base above fifty dollars and after news of a ship collision in the key Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.  Traders took profits early Thursday bringing prices down more than $1. Prices moved back up after news of a collision between two US Navy ships in the Straight of Hormuz, through an area where around forty per cent of the world's oil is shipped. 

"There is no disruption to shipping traffic in the strait. Both ships are operating under their own power and have passed through the strait," said a US Navy spokesman.  "Our sentiment is that the economy will improve and has oil traders trying to push the crude prices over fifty dollars a barrel," said Connecticult analyst Gene Macmillan from Tradition Energy.