Battered crude oil prices bounced back from their lows on Thursday, propelling solid gains in Asian shares and the dollar.
Thursday's
gains built on Wall Street's consolidation overnight in which major
indexes finished with declines of more than 1 percent, but well off the 3
percent plus they plumbed in the previous session when U.S. crude had
dropped to 2003 lows.
New front-month U.S. March oil futures fell nearly 4 percent on the day to close at $28.35 a barrel, but they were up 1.2 percent in Asian trade at $28.70, a far cry from the expiring contract on U.S. crude for February delivery, which slid 6.7 percent to settle at $26.55.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended early gains and was up 1.4 percent while Japan's Nikkei average added 1.5 percent, clawing back some of the 3.7 percent it plunged in the previous session to a 14-1/2 month closing low.
China's bluechip CSI300 index was down 0.5 percent in early trade, and the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.8 percent.
The dollar bounced back from a one-year low against its perceived safe-haven Japanese counterpart. The greenback added about 0.4 percent to 117.38 yen after falling as low as 115.97 on Wednesday, even as it marked impressive gains against some emerging market currencies.
U.S. data out on Wednesday undermined the dollar overnight. U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in December, suggesting inflation was more sluggish than the U.S. Federal Reserve believed.
Other Wednesday data showed a drop in housing starts and building permits last month, which led investors to pare expectations of further interest rate hikes this year.
The euro edged down about 0.2 percent to $1.0870, ahead of the European Central Bank's regular policy meeting later in the session. Expectations are for the ECB to hold interest rates steady but highlight increasing risks to growth and inflation while keeping the door open for further easing steps later this year.
New front-month U.S. March oil futures fell nearly 4 percent on the day to close at $28.35 a barrel, but they were up 1.2 percent in Asian trade at $28.70, a far cry from the expiring contract on U.S. crude for February delivery, which slid 6.7 percent to settle at $26.55.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended early gains and was up 1.4 percent while Japan's Nikkei average added 1.5 percent, clawing back some of the 3.7 percent it plunged in the previous session to a 14-1/2 month closing low.
China's bluechip CSI300 index was down 0.5 percent in early trade, and the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.8 percent.
The dollar bounced back from a one-year low against its perceived safe-haven Japanese counterpart. The greenback added about 0.4 percent to 117.38 yen after falling as low as 115.97 on Wednesday, even as it marked impressive gains against some emerging market currencies.
U.S. data out on Wednesday undermined the dollar overnight. U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in December, suggesting inflation was more sluggish than the U.S. Federal Reserve believed.
Other Wednesday data showed a drop in housing starts and building permits last month, which led investors to pare expectations of further interest rate hikes this year.
The euro edged down about 0.2 percent to $1.0870, ahead of the European Central Bank's regular policy meeting later in the session. Expectations are for the ECB to hold interest rates steady but highlight increasing risks to growth and inflation while keeping the door open for further easing steps later this year.
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