Oil claws back losses

31/03/2009

Crude oil prices have risen in early trading in New York this morning after falling sharply yesterday (March 30th).

By 05:37 Eastern Time on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for May delivery had climbed to $49.21 (£34.44), up 80 cents on its opening price.

The gains came as investors re-evaluated the losses seen on the exchange yesterday, when crude futures slipped below the $50 barrier and finished the day down nearly $4.

Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank, told Bloomberg that prices will begin to stabilise at around this level.

A price plateau could result in fewer fluctuations in heating oil prices.

"We have some positive factors this morning reversing yesterday’s slump; the euro-dollar is giving support and equities in Europe are friendly," he explained.

Yesterday's losses came as President Obama gave a stark warning to US auto giants, insisting that they need to "fundamentally restructure" in order to avoid collapse.