Oil traded near a three-day high on speculation fuel demand will increase as Greece moves closer to completing a debt swap to ease Europe’s crisis and the U.S. labor market improves.

Futures were little changed after gaining 0.4 percent yesterday. Private investors agreed to swap about 85 percent of their Greek government bonds for new securities, said a banker briefed on the results who declined to be identified. The U.S. probably added 210,000 jobs in February, according a Bloomberg survey before a report today. Oil has climbed this year amid concern sanctions against Iran will lead to military conflict in the Middle East, home to more than half the world’s crude.

“We had a lift in oil on the back of expectations that Greece will come through,” said Jonathan Barratt, chief executive of Barratt’s Bulletin, a commodity markets newsletter in Sydney. “The Middle Eastern premium is still there but the market seems to be tracking sideways.”

Oil for April delivery was at $106.68 a barrel, up 10 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:42 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday climbed 0.4 percent to $106.58, the highest close since March 5. Prices are down 2 cents this week and have gained 7.9 percent this year.

Brent oil for April settlement was at $125.43 a barrel, down 1 cent, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract’s premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate was at $18.75. It rose to $18.86 yesterday, the widest gap based on closing prices since Feb. 6.

Oil may decline next week as calls for negotiations between nuclear powers and Iran may reduce tension that’s helped bolster crude prices this year, a Bloomberg News survey showed. Fourteen of 28 analysts, or 50 percent, forecast oil will fall through March 16. Ten respondents, or 36 percent, predicted prices will rise and four estimated there will be little change.

• Gold, silver rally as Fed’s Powell leans a bit dovish   (2024-03-07 05:26:21)
• Gold, silver rally as Federal Reserve leans surprisingly easy   (2023-12-15 06:28:18)
• Wall Street and main street see continued gains for gold prices   (2023-12-03 04:08:06)
• Focus Gold prices below $2,000, but seasonals remain favorable   (2023-11-24 05:24:28)
• Retail investors bullish on gold, but Wall Street analysts shift into neutral   (2023-11-18 07:12:10)
• Gold, silver rally after tamer U.S. CPI hammers USDX, Treasury yields   (2023-11-15 05:35:06)
• Vàng chịu áp lực bán kỹ thuật, dầu thô giảm   (2023-11-09 06:48:37)
• Gold pressured on technical selling, drop in crude oil   (2023-11-09 06:47:13)
• Wall Street analysts see virtually no downside for gold prices, retail investors maintain bullish outlook   (2023-11-04 06:13:43)
• Bullish outside markets mildly support gold; U.S. jobs data on deck   (2023-11-03 06:13:17)