Oil edges towards $69

27/07/2009

Crude oil prices edged closer towards $69 (£41) a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (July 27th).

In a third consecutive day of gains, the commodity reached a high of $68.99 a barrel in the early morning session before slipping back to $68.67 at 05:49 Eastern Time, up 62 cents.

The gains came on the back of a strengthened performance on key equity markets, with Asian bourses witnessing their ninth day of gains in ten.

"Oil's rally has again been supported by external factors, such as positive macroeconomic data and rally in the equities markets," said Toby Hassall, a commodities analyst at Commodities Warrants Australia," speaking to Reuters.

"Those factors, along with the US dollar, should again set the tone for oil this week," he added.

Heating oil has also moved upwards in response to corporate earnings reports for the second quarter which have bolstered confidence in the global economy and improved prospects for recovery.