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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2015/dec/24/oil-price-stock-markets-pre-christmas-rally-business-live
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| Oil price rebounds in pre-Christmas rally - business live | Oil price rebounds in pre-Christmas rally - business live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.40am GMT08:40 | |
| Oil shares rise in London | |
| Europe’s stock markets have opened rather cautiously today. | |
| After surging by more than 150 points on Wednesday, Britain’s FTSE 100 has gained an extra 12 points at the open to 6253, a rise of 0.2% | |
| Oil companies are among the risers, with BP and Royal Dutch Shell both up around 1%. | |
| The French stock market has dipped by 0.2%, on what already feels like a quiet trading session. | |
| Tony Cross, market analyst at Trustnet Direct, reckons that “pre-Christmas party fatigue” is kicking in.... | |
| Volumes are expected to be thin over the next few hours, whilst data that might actually deliver any meaningful direction is also going to be hard to come by. | |
| 8.34am GMT08:34 | |
| A mince pie for Augustin Eden of Accendo Markets, who says that traders are “getting into the petroleum spirit of Christmas” today as they push oil higher. | |
| 8.26am GMT08:26 | |
| The rising oil price has helped push shares higher in Australia, where the stock market enjoyed a pre-Christmas bounce. | |
| The S&P/ASX 200 index jumped by 1.2%, its seventh consecutive day of gains. | |
| Energy shares led the rally, on relief that oil prices were bouncing back from their 11-year lows: | |
| 8.18am GMT08:18 | |
| The oil price is also benefitting from the news that US oil drillers reined in production last week. | |
| There were just 538 oil rigs in active service this week, three fewer than the previous week, according to the latest Baker Hughes rig count. | |
| A year ago, there were 961 - before the slump in oil prices forced many producers to cut back. | |
| Analysts at Goldman Sachs predicts that output will fall in 2016: | |
| The current rig count is... pointing to U.S. production declining sequentially between 2Q15 and 4Q15 by 320,000 barrels per day.” | |
| Updated at 8.19am GMT | |
| 8.02am GMT08:02 | 8.02am GMT08:02 |
| Oil price jumps in pre-Christmas rally | Oil price jumps in pre-Christmas rally |
| After hitting eleven-year lows this week, the oil price is staging a rally this morning. | After hitting eleven-year lows this week, the oil price is staging a rally this morning. |
| Crude prices are up in early trading, after new data showed fewer barrels are sitting in storage than expected. | |
| Brent crude is leading the charge - a barrel of North Sea oil has jumped by 1.1%, or 44 cents, to $37.87. | Brent crude is leading the charge - a barrel of North Sea oil has jumped by 1.1%, or 44 cents, to $37.87. |
| US crude is up almost 1% at $37.83. | US crude is up almost 1% at $37.83. |
| Angus Nicholson of IG says: | Angus Nicholson of IG says: |
| Judging by the moves in oil overnight, one could be forgiven for thinking that Santa’s sleigh runs on Light-Sweet Cushing, Oklahoma Crude. | Judging by the moves in oil overnight, one could be forgiven for thinking that Santa’s sleigh runs on Light-Sweet Cushing, Oklahoma Crude. |
| But that’s not the real reason, kids. | But that’s not the real reason, kids. |
| Instead the rally has been sparked by America’s Energy Information Administration, which reported yesterday that oil inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels last week. | Instead the rally has been sparked by America’s Energy Information Administration, which reported yesterday that oil inventories fell by 5.9 million barrels last week. |
| The market had expected a rise of 1.1 million, so investors are revising their concerns about oversupply problems. | The market had expected a rise of 1.1 million, so investors are revising their concerns about oversupply problems. |
| But there are still 484.78 million barrels in storage, according to the EIA, which is nearly a record high.... | |
| Updated at 8.18am GMT | |
| 7.48am GMT07:48 | 7.48am GMT07:48 |
| Introduction: It's starting to look a lot like..... | Introduction: It's starting to look a lot like..... |
| Good morning, and a Merry Christmas to you. | Good morning, and a Merry Christmas to you. |
| After a dramatic year, we’ve finally reached the last trading day before the festive break. | After a dramatic year, we’ve finally reached the last trading day before the festive break. |
| Some hardy traders are heading to their desks in the City, where the stock market will shut down at lunchtime. | Some hardy traders are heading to their desks in the City, where the stock market will shut down at lunchtime. |
| But there may be more drama on the high streets, with retailers expecting plenty of shoppers ahead of tomorrow’s festivities. They’ll also be catching their breath after Wednesday -- which was the busiest shopping day of the year: | But there may be more drama on the high streets, with retailers expecting plenty of shoppers ahead of tomorrow’s festivities. They’ll also be catching their breath after Wednesday -- which was the busiest shopping day of the year: |
| Related: Elves and shelves: how Tesco copes on the year's busiest food shopping day | Related: Elves and shelves: how Tesco copes on the year's busiest food shopping day |
| Last night, European markets staged a strong rally - with the FTSE 100 surging by 2.6%. | Last night, European markets staged a strong rally - with the FTSE 100 surging by 2.6%. |
| Today will probably be quieter, with shares likely to be little changed in London, Paris and Madrid. It’s going to be particularly quiet in Frankfurt or Milan too; the German and Italian markets are closed. | Today will probably be quieter, with shares likely to be little changed in London, Paris and Madrid. It’s going to be particularly quiet in Frankfurt or Milan too; the German and Italian markets are closed. |
| Our European opening calls: $FTSE 6240 down 1 $DAX Closed $CAC 4678 up 3 $IBEX 9657 up 16 $MIB Closed | Our European opening calls: $FTSE 6240 down 1 $DAX Closed $CAC 4678 up 3 $IBEX 9657 up 16 $MIB Closed |
| CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson predicts.... | CMC Markets’ Michael Hewson predicts.... |
| ....a fairly lacklustre start to today’s holiday shortened European session, while on the data front it is expected to be a fairly light day. | ....a fairly lacklustre start to today’s holiday shortened European session, while on the data front it is expected to be a fairly light day. |
| But we can’t rule out some last minute ructions in the markets. | But we can’t rule out some last minute ructions in the markets. |
| I’ll be tracking all the main events through the morning (and trying not to fret about finding a last-minute gift for Mrs W....) | I’ll be tracking all the main events through the morning (and trying not to fret about finding a last-minute gift for Mrs W....) |
| Updated at 7.53am GMT | Updated at 7.53am GMT |