Crude steady for second day

17/06/2009

Oil futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange have held steady for the second consecutive day during electronic activity this morning (June 17th).

By 04:45 Eastern Time, the July delivery crude contract was trading at $70.42 (£43.11) a barrel, down five cents on yesterday's settle price, which in turn was down 15 cents on Monday's closing price.

The slight falls come after weeks of sustained rallies riding on the back on increased optimism in the outlook for economic recovery.

However, this week prices have dropped from a peak of $73 a barrel amid fears that prices may be rising too fast. Heating oil prices have also dropped during the week.

Speaking to Reuters, the secretary general of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Abdullah al-Badri said that the world needs a stable oil price to prevent inflation.

"Of course we do not want to see oil prices rising too rapidly and certainly not to harm growth in the global economy," he said.