Oil hovers near $41 as traders mull mixed US data

 

Oil hovered near $41 a barrel today in Asia as investors mulled the impact of OPEC production cuts and mixed signs about the US economy.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose 16 cents to $40.94 a barrel by midday in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract overnight rose 70 cents to settle at $40.78.
 
Investors have been struggling to gauge the depth of the worst recession in more than 25 years in the US, which is the world's largest consumer of oil. Prices, which had plunged to $33 by December after jumping to a record $147.27 a barrel in July, have stabilized at the $40 levels for the last week.

A jump in home sales reported yesterday suggested the economic downturn could be bottoming. Pending sales for preowned homes rose 6.3 per cent in December from the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Other indicators pointed to a worsening slowdown. US car and truck sales fell 37 per cent in January, including a 49 per cent drop at General Motors Corp and 40 per cent at Ford Motor Co.

Some corporate results were also grim. Mobile phone maker Motorola Inc said it lost $3.6 billion last quarter and suspended its dividend.

The Walt Disney Co reported a 32 per cent decline in quarterly profits yesterday.

Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger said the current recession is "likely to be the weakest economy in our lifetime."