Oil Ticks Higher On Renewed Optimism

By SELINA WILLIAMS

LONDON—Brent crude futures edged higher as optimism mounted ahead of a two-day meeting in Poland of euro-zone finance ministers regarding potential coordinated action to stem the region's debt crisis.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will also attend the meeting, which follows news Thursday that global central banks will pump more dollars into the European banking system to reduce pressure on banks, some of which have had trouble borrowing dollars.

The move to make dollars more easily available lifted Brent prices as it helped to calm investors' fear of another recession in the euro zone. A recession would weaken oil demand.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude prices drifted in a narrow range as market participants awaited the opening of markets there and the University of Michigan consumer confidence data later in the day.

Mid morning, the front-month October contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading up 32 cents, or 0.4%, at $89.08 per barrel. The front-month November Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was up 30 cents at $112.60 a barrel.

With no major macroeconomic data due out Friday, headlines out of the Poland meeting are likely to dominate markets, analysts said.

But in the meantime, market participants are unlikely to place bets that prices will fall in Friday's session in case the Poland meeting yields a positive result over the weekend, when markets are closed.

"The sense of dread that was gripping the markets for much of last week and earlier this week seems to be fading somewhat, and this should allow a measure of strengthening to set in, at least during Friday's session," MF Global said.

Additional delays to cargoes of Forties crude, the main grade feeding into benchmark Brent blend, have tightened the supply-demand balance in the key North Sea physical market, limiting any downside on Brent futures prices, said Andrey Kryuchenkov's , VTB Capital vice president of commodities research.

Mid morning, the ICE's gasoil contract for October delivery was down $1.75 at $950.50 per metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for October delivery was up 58 points at $2.7886 per gallon.

Write to Selina Williams at selina.williams@dowjones.com

via online.wsj.com