Oil rises as investors look past possible reserve releases

Oil rises as investors look past possible reserve releases

TOKYO - Oil prices rose on Friday, after wild swings the day before, on investor concerns that potential coordinated releases by the world's major economies of their official crude reserves to try to lower prices may have less of an impact than expected. Brent crude was up 53 cents, or 0.7%, at $81.77 a barrel by 0437 GMT, after falling to a six-week low on Thursday before rebounding to close 1.2% higher. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for December delivery was up 49 cents at $79.50 a barrel, having swung through a more than $2 range the previous session before closing up. The December contract expires on Friday and most trading activity has shifted to the January future, which was up 60 cents, or 0.8%, at $79.01 a barrel. Both Brent and WTI are set for a fourth week of declines. The market gyrations on Thursday followed a Reuters report that the United States had asked China, Japan and other big buyers to join a release of crude stocks from Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR). "However, the market remains fundamentally tight and any volumes released are unlikely to substantially alter the global balance," Fitch Solutions commodities analysts said in a