Oil Rises First Time in Four Days on Concern Drop Was Excessive

By Samantha Zee and Mark Shenk

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the first time in four days on speculation prices had fallen too far in response to the global recession.

Oil has declined more than 70 percent from the record price of $147.27 a barrel in July. U.S. private employers cut payrolls the most in December since ADP Employer Services began its gauge based on payroll data in 2001. The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits last week was the largest since 1982, the Labor Department said.

“Some of the bad news this week has been factored in with the ADP report coming out, and then the Labor Department report,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC in Houston.

Crude oil for February delivery gained as much as 90 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $42.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was trading at $42.30 at 9:18 a.m. Singapore time.

Yesterday, futures fell 93 cents, or 2.2 percent, to settle at $41.70 a barrel in New York, the lowest since Dec. 30. Oil has fallen 56 percent from a year ago.

To contact the reporter on this story: Samantha Zee in Los Angeles at szee@bloomberg.net; Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net.