Increased oil stockpiles in the United States and mixed signals about the state of the global economy have stopped oil prices below $126 a barrel for a tenth day.
Oil inventories rose to a six-month high as imports rebounded after weather-related delays along the Gulf of Mexico eased, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
A barrel of Brent crude was $125.55 this morning, after falling 8 cents. The oil is up from $112.13 at the start of the year, and has been rising due to supply fears sparked by tensions between America, Europe and other countries with Iran.
Dovish signals from chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke that the central bank plans to continue supporting the country's fragile recovery, sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.23 per cent, and the wider S&P index up 1.39 per cent to its highest since 2008.
In the UAE markets were up early in the session. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange was up 0.15 per cent to 2,581.37. The Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 0.35 per cent to 1,661.21.
Tabreed, the Dubai listed Natural Central Cooling Company, continued its rollercoaster up and down the index, falling 2.53 per cent in early trading to Dh1.54 a share. The company today announced it has postponed its AGM, expected last night, to April 4.
Global stock markets ended in the green at the close of the first day of their trading week. European stocks closed higher on positive industrial data from Germany.
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