Brent oil prices trading back over $87 on Greece news

Brent oil prices are back over the $87 mark in early trading on Friday as the oil market was boosted by the easing Greek debt crisis, which in turn helped push the euro higher against the US dollar.

In Friday’s trading session, London’s Brent crude oil futures for June delivery climbed $87.43 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

European stock markets rallied on Thursday and the euro pulled away from recent lows as Germany appeared to relax its opposition to a Greek bailout. Greek equities rocketed 7.14 per cent higher after officials said that talks on a major EU-IMF bailout loan were nearly complete with Athens being called to take tough new measures.

The weaker US dollar makes dollar priced crude oil cheaper for buyers using stronger units, like the euro, and therefore this tends to lift demand and oil prices.