Oil edges above $65

23 July 2009

The price of crude oil edged above $65 in late trading on Wednesday and has held above this mark in early Thursday trading, buoyed as it was by stronger equity markets.

Crude futures for September delivery hit $65.48 (£39.61) at 04:23 Eastern Time this morning, while spot prices of dated Brent were more than a dollar higher at $66.68 per barrel.

Heating oil prices, meanwhile, rose further, reaching $1.7165 per gallon.

Despite a drop in prices earlier this week, a return to price increases follows a trend that has seen a barrel of crude rise in cost from below $59 two weeks ago.

Such a rise has been put down to increasing optimism that the global economy is to begin recovering this year. Yesterday's drop in costs came following data from the American Petroleum Institute which reported increases in US stockpiles, highlighting that demand from the country remains weaker than had been expected.

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