Brent oil price trading over $74 on US market bounce

3 June 2010 3 June 2010

BonTrade

Brent oil prices are trading up over $74 a barrel on Thursday open after positive US economic data sparked a rally in US and global stock markets, analysts said.

In London, the Brent crude oil futures for July delivery traded at $74.28 midday Singapore time on the ICE Futures Exchange.

“The market is really tracking the stronger economic news coming out of the United States,” said Jason Feer, vice president and general manager with energy market analysts Argus Media.

“Oil prices are clearly at the mercy of jittery nerves and fragile sentiment,” Barclays Capital said in a report. “Once the nerves calm down, and fundamentals reassert themselves, we would expect prices to move higher quickly.”

Robust economic data from the US triggered a surge on Wall Street yesterday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 225.90 points, or 2.25 percent, to finish at 10,249.92 on Wednesday and in turn, oil prices jumped higher as well.