Oil looks to end week on a high

26/06/2009

Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange have risen for a second day, driven upwards by the confirmation of reports of another attack on a Shell pipeline in Nigeria.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has intensified attacks in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta region in recent weeks and it announced yesterday (June 24th) that it has struck another pipeline in the region owned by Shell.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Victor Shum, a senior principal at consultants Purvin & Gertz, said that a number of other factors had been instrumental in the rally seen yesterday and this morning, with rising equity markets in Asia and a weakening dollar both lifting the commodity.

By 05:20 Eastern Time, the August delivery crude contract was trading at $71.10 (£43.13) a barrel, up 85 cents on yesterday's settle price.

Heating oil also rose yesterday, closing for the day at $1.7804 a gallon, up 3.8 cents.