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| Edited By: |Source: PTI |Updated: Mar 30, 2018, 03:12 AM IST
Oil held above $76 a barrel in Asian trade today due to buoyant stock markets and expectations of healthy corporate earnings in the United States.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, was up six cents at $76.15 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude also for August gained three cents to $75.45.
"Oil is holding on to $76 a barrel," said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.
"Generally the sentiment has turned more positive. Oil pricing has been linked to equities in recent months and stocks have performed well lately," he told AFP.
Shum added that expectations of strong second-quarter corporate earnings in the United States due out this week were supportive of oil prices.
The United States is the world's biggest energy consumer and its consumption patterns, also linked to economic growth, are closely monitored by the market.
China's rising crude oil imports and the International Monetary Fund's forecast for stronger global growth were also supporting oil prices, Shum said.
"The question is whether there is enough confidence in the market for oil prices to hold above $75," he said.
"I think that given the uneven economic recovery around the world, pricing in the mid $70 is probably a more stable value."
