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Oil prices inch up on markets

28 August 2009 08:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev â€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil traded above $72 a barrel in New York on optimism that fuel demand will increase as the global economy pulls out of a recession.
Oil pared this weekâ€™s decline as Asian equities climbed, reinforcing expectations of an economic recovery. The U.S. economy contracted at a less-than-expected 1 percent in the second quarter, the government said yesterday. U.S. crude oil stockpiles last week were â€œabove averageâ€ for this time of the year, the Energy Department said Aug. 26.
Crude oil for October delivery was at $72.55 a barrel, up 6 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:52 p.m. Singapore time. It earlier climbed as much as 0.7 percent to $73.03 a barrel. Yesterday, the contract rose $1.06, or 1.5 percent, to settle at $72.49. Futures are poised to fall 1.8 percent this week.
U.S. inventories of crude oil rose 128,000 barrels last week to 343.8 million, the Energy Department said today in a report. Supplies were forecast to drop by 1.15 million barrels, according to the median of 14 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
U.S. total daily fuel use averaged 19.2 million barrels in the past four weeks, down 0.9 percent from a year earlier, the Energy Department said.
Crude oil reached a 10-month intraday high of $75 a barrel on Aug. 25 and has fallen 3.3 percent since then.
Brent crude for October settlement was at $72.50 a barrel, down 1 cent, on the London ICE Futures Europe Exchange at 12:35 p.m. Singapore time. The contract rose 86 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $72.51 a barrel yesterday.