By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch
All of those factors helped contribute to oil’s rally Friday, “but fear by far is the biggest driver right now,” said Kevin Kerr, president of Kerr Trading International.
“Shorts were certain earlier in the week that oil would freefall and with yesterday’s rally and then today’s event, even hardened traders are left shaking their heads,” said Kerr, who also edits MarketWatch’s Global Resources Trader.
At last check, crude for July delivery traded as high as $139.12 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex Friday, the highest intraday price for a front-month futures contract on record.
July crude climbed $10.75, or 8.4%, to close at $138.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was an all-time closing high. It climbed as high as $138.80 during the regular trading session.
The contract climbed 8.8% for the week on Nymex. It also reached its maximum daily gain during the session on the exchange, for the first time ever, causing a halt to trading. The maximum daily price fluctuation for crude futures is $10 per barrel. When that level is reached, trading is halted for five minutes and then resumes with the limit expanded by $10.
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