The price of oil rose for a second straight day today.
US benchmark oil for October delivery was up USD 1.53, or 1.5 percent, to USD 106.55 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil rose USD 1.18 a barrel yesterday.
Even with the two days of gains, oil is down almost USD 1 a barrel for the week.
Oil rose after the government said that Americans cut back sharply in July on their purchases of new homes, a sign that higher mortgage rates may weigh on the housing recovery.
Traders apparently saw the weak data as an indication that the Federal Reserve may need to wait before slowing down its bond-buying programme.
Risk premiums linked to the political crisis in Egypt and labor conflicts at key Libyan ports used to ship oil exports have also supported crude prices over the past days.
Egypt controls the Suez Canal and the Sumed pipeline, crucial transport routes between the Middle East and the Mediterranean Sea through which around 4.5 million barrels of oil and refined products are shipped daily.
North Sea Brent, the benchmark for international crudes, was up USD 1.19 to USD 111.09 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
