Stocks are treading water ahead of a crucial US jobs report on Friday, but the Wall Street pause is not stopping significant moves on commodity markets.
Overnight, crude reclaimed the spotlight as a strike by Brazilian oil workers trimmed the daily output of giant energy group Petrobras by around 25 per cent, while the closure of an oil export terminal in Libya also presented a bullish short-term indicator.
The upshot was a 3.8 per cent surge in US Nymex crude to $US47.90 a barrel, while global benchmark Brent crude bounced 3.6 per cent to $US50.54. Technical indicators aided the recovery, which will be tested tomorrow by weekly US inventories data.
The jump pushed energy stocks up another 2.5 per cent in US trade, extending on a 2 per cent gain in the previous session.
LNG Price at posting:
$1.52 Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
