Singapore: Oil prices rose in Asian trade
today, bolstered by improved investor sentiment amid
widespread hopes for a global economic recovery, analysts
said.
A weaker US dollar was also a factor behind the surge
in oil prices, they said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for
October delivery, gained 25 cents to USD 74.14 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for October delivery advanced 44
cents to USD 74.63.
"Sentiment remains broadly supportive of commodities
including oil in anticipation of an economic recovery," said
David Moore, a Sydney-based commodity strategist with the
Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
New York crude prices scaled new 2009 highs last week,
rising above USD 74 on Friday on a weak greenback, an improved
US macro-economic outlook and positive eurozone data.
The New York contract soared to USD 74.72 during US
trading Friday, a level last seen on October 20 2008, before
easing to close at USD 73.89.
A slew of economic data released last week suggested
the US economy and euro-zone economies were likely recovering,
boosting hopes that energy demand in turn would see an uptick,
analysts said.
"Data is sparse this week but should all support the
view that recession is over," analysts from Singapore's DBS
Bank said in a report in its view on the US economy.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 24, 2009, 09:24