Oil prices rose above $ 57 a barrel today in Asia as investors bet that a year-end recovery in the global economy will boost oil demand.
Traders have shaken off weeks of dismal economic news amid signs that the slowdown has eased and a recovery could gain steam by the end of the year."Market psychology has clearly turned around," said Christoffer Moltke-Leth, head of sales trading for Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore. "I could see oil going above $ 60".
Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 53 cents to $ 57.24 a barrel by midday in Singapore, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Yesterday, the contract rose as high as $58.57 a barrel, a six-month high, before settling up 32 cents at $ 56.47. Until this week, oil had traded in a range near $ 50 a barrel since the end of March as investors looked for evidence that the US economy had stabilised after a severe recession in the fourth and first quarters.
Yesterday, several US retailers, led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc, reported better-than-expected April sales, and new applications for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in 14 weeks, signaling a wave of layoffs may have peaked.