Oil gains in early trading after three-day losses

24 May 2010

Published by Bob Burton

Crude oil prices were rising on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning (May 24th), recovering after three days of losses.

The gains came as stock markets rebounded from the pummelling endured last week amid enduring concerns about the health of the eurozone economies.

Chinese equities performed particularly strongly this morning as analysts anticipated that the country may delay measures designed to contain growth and inflation.

The country has gestured towards a more conservative economic strategy in recent months to cool growth, but with the eurozone under threat, the dangers of an unsustainable expansion are on the wane.

Speaking to Bloomberg, David Land, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: "If there is renewed expectation that we'll see a cooling in the situation in Europe, that will translate into a bit of upside for the oil price."

By the time European markets opened, the July-delivery crude oil contract had gained as much as 92 cents to trade at $70.96 a barrel, while heating oil prices had also climbed above the $1.90-a-gallon mark.