Crude oil recovering after dipping below $70

18 May 2010

Written by John King

Crude oil prices were recovering strongly on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (May 18th), reversing yesterday's losses.

In the fifth consecutive day of declines, crude oil prices yesterday dipped below $70 (£48) a barrel, with a strong dollar once more weighing on buying activity among foreign investors.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Gordon Kwan, the head of regional energy research at Mirae Asset Securities in Hong Kong, said the recovery will be contained within a relatively slim price range.

"At best, oil will only bounce back to $70 a barrel, and drift between $70 and $75 until the euro crisis fears have subsided somewhat," he commented.

By 02:31 Central Standard Time, crude was trading at $71.37 a barrel, while heating oil prices were also up this morning.

Traders will now look ahead to demand data from the American Petroleum Institute and the Energy Information Administration due out over the next two days.