United States crude prices reach 2016 highs

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The S&P 500 ended at its highest level of the year on Friday as oil prices climbed further and investors reassessed this week?s stimulus measures by the European Central Bank.
Oil gains followed an International Energy Agency report that said the oil market may have found a bottom. The IEA report also said production declines were picking up in the United States and other non-OPEC producers, and an increase in supply from Iran was less dramatic than expected.

Partly offsetting the bullish comments, Goldman Sachs lowered its crude oil price forecasts for this year and next year.
Brent rose 34 cents, or 0.9 percent, to settle at $40.39 a barrel, and was up 4 percent for the week.
US crude gained 1.7 percent to $38.50, and set a new high for the year.

Both US and Brent crude prices are up more than 40 percent from this year?s lows.
In the stock market, all three major US stock indexes registered a fourth straight week of gains, while MSCI?s all-country world stock index gained 1.8 percent, also putting in a fourth week of increases.
A rise in energy shares helped stocks, while investors also shook off skepticism over the ECB announcements from Thursday.

The ECB had announced a bold new stimulus plan but signaled it was unlikely to cut its negative interest rates further.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 218.18 points, or 1.28 percent, to 17,213.31, the S&P 500 gained 32.62 points, or 1.64 percent, to 2,022.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 86.31 points, or 1.85 percent, to 4,748.47.
The S&P 500 also ended above its 200-day moving average for the first time since Dec. 30.
Gold fell as the dollar rebounded.

US gold for April delivery settled down 1.1 percent at $1,259.40 an ounce, after peaking at $1,287.80.