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Brent crude oil topped $50 a barrel for the first time in
nearly seven months on Thursday lifting commodity and energy-related shares in
Europe and Asia though worries about
Oil's rise took it to levels more than 80 percent above January's 12-year lows and was fuelled in part by a weaker dollar, which fell against the Japanese yen.
European shares edged higher, led by the basic resources and oil and gas sectors. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.2 percent, pushing on from a four-week high hit on Wednesday. The STOXX 600 basic resources index rose 2.4 percent. Oil and gas added 0.8 percent.
Energy shares also outperformed in
"Oil inventory data has been mixed over the last six months but much of this depends on how many believe that we are on the cusp of an increase in global demand and economic recovery," said Atif Latif, Director of Trading at Guardian Stockbrokers.
Chinese shares fell more than 1 percent at one point, with the CSI300 index touching its lowest since March 11 after data on Thursday showed profits at state-owned firms fell 8.4 percent year-on-year in the first four months of 2016, while debts rose 18 percent. However, a late rally saw the index close 0.2 percent higher.
Brent, the international benchmark oil price, rose as high
as $50.26 a barrel, its highest since early November, in the wake of data
showing a sharper-than-expected fall in
"Geopolitical issues in West Africa and the Middle
East, supply outages, increased demand and maybe a touch of a weaker dollar
have all helped push prices higher," said Jonathan Barratt, chief
investment officer at
He added, however, that the rally would not last as the
higher prices would bring
In currency markets, the yen rose 0.2 percent to 110 per dollar and 0.1 percent against the euro to $1.1169.
The greenback hit a two-month high against a basket of currencies on Wednesday, on a roll after minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting and comments from Fed officials hinted that an interest rate rise could be imminent.
Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan said on Wednesday he would
support raising rates in the "near future" but added that
The cost of hedging against big swings in sterling over the next month hit seven-year highs on Thursday.
Investors are looking to a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday for more clues to the rate outlook.
Yields on two-year U.S. Treasuries hit 10-week highs around
0.94 percent on Wednesday on expectations of a possible rate hike and as
German 10-year government bond yields, the benchmark for euro zone borrowing costs, rose about 1 basis point on Thursday to 0.16 percent.
The markets is already turning to next Thursday's European Central Bank policy meeting, at which it will unveil new growth and inflation forecasts.
Higher oil prices have helped lift a gauge of long-term inflation expectations often cited by the ECB - the five-year, five-year breakeven rate EUIL5Y5Y=R> - above 1.5 percent, though this remains below the ECB's inflation target of near 2 percent.