NEW YORK: Oil prices jumped above 50 dollars Thursday after the Federal Reserve moved to inject another trillion dollars into the US financial system to boost the world's biggest economy. New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, ended 3.47 dollars higher from Wednesday's close to 51.61 dollars per barrel, topping 50 dollars for the first time in four months. In early trading Thursday, the contract surged to 52.25 dollars -- the highest level since November 28, 2008. Brent North Sea crude for May delivery rose 3.01 dollars to 50.67 in London after breaching 51 dollars. Analysts attributed the price jump to Wednesday's announcement by the US Federal Reserve that it would pump 1.15 trillion dollars into the financial system. The move also has pulled down the US dollar against key currencies. "You need to put this action in the context of what has happened in the last few weeks in the market. There has been a shift in market sentiment," said Constanza Jacazio of Barclays Capital. "From a market where demand was the only driver of price action and sentiment, there seems to have been a shift in a more balanced view," he said. Crude futures had slid Wednesday on news of a larger-than-expected increase in US energy reserves that highlighted weak American energy demand, but trimmed losses after news of the Fed plan. "Oil prices took a rollercoaster ride yesterday (Wednesday), with bearish (US) inventory data ... firstly prompting a fall in the April (New York) contract to 47 dollars before the Fed's surprising announcement," said Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Eugen Weinberg.The US central bank said Wednesday that it would buy up to 300 billion dollars in long-term US Treasury bonds over the next six months "to help improve conditions in private credit markets."
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