Fuelled by bullish data and rallying stock markets, oil prices rose about 2 per cent last week -- its third straight week of gains -- which helped to reverse steep losses in the middle of the month and brought July's monthly loss to a marginal 0.6 per cent.
US crude for September rose 63 cents to $70.08 a barrel by 0345 GMT, adding to gains of $2.51 on Friday that brought the contract to settle at $69.45.
London Brent crude gained 70 cents to $72.40 a barrel.
"Oil prices are again supported by a positive sentiment. The US growth number has confirmed that the worst is behind us and the focus now is to find out how quick the recovery will be," said Ben Westmore, a commodities analyst at the National Bank of Australia.
Asian stocks inched up to an 11-month high on Monday amid hopes of a swift economic rebound, while two separate surveys showed Chinese factory growth accelerating in July because of a revived domestic economy and slight pick-up in demand for its exports. China's PMI from brokerage CLSA hit a on-year peak.
Another bright spot was China's crude stockpiles, including both state strategic reserves and commercial ones, which declined 2.7 per cent from a month earlier to 37.7 million tonnes at end-June, the official Xinhua news agency reported in a newsletter on Monday.
0 Comments