London, August 28: Oil prices edged towards 73 dollars today, extending the previous day’s rally as the market was buoyed by rising equities and a weakening US dollar, analysts said.
New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, rose 21 cents to 72.70 dollars a barrel in afternoon trade.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October gained 34 cents to 72.85 dollars.
Crude futures had rebounded yesterday after two days of losses, lifted by a weaker dollar late in the session and rallying US share prices.
“The catalyst behind the recovery was based as usual on stocks flipping back into positive territory combined with a renewed weakening in the US dollar,” said ODL Securities analyst Marius Paun.
Wall Street’s blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.39 percent to 9,580.63 points, ending higher for an eighth straight session and extending its longest winning streak in 28 months.
European equities also rallied today, boosted by strong gains on Wall Street as investors digested news that the British recession was not as deep as expected in the second quarter.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares was up 0.98 percent to 4,916.54 points in late afternoon deals.
—Agencies