Oil prices were higher in Asia yesterday after world leaders united to tackle a global financial crisis engulfing Europe and the US, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery next month was US$3.04 higher at US$80.74 a barrel, recovering from one-year lows reached on Friday.
The contract had plunged US$8.89 to US$77.70 at the end of last week, in tandem with a global equities meltdown on fears of recession that would crimp demand for energy.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery traded US$2.27 higher at US$76.36.
On Friday in London, Brent fell by US$8.57 to settle at US$74.09.
Oil prices have already plunged from record highs above US$147, reached in July, because of demand worries, dealers said.
Yesterday’s recovery followed weekend signals by US and European leaders that they have a growing commitment to take joint action to end the turmoil after the Wall Street collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers unleashed a worldwide crash on stock markets.
“The G7-related announcements over the weekend have a mild positive impact,” said David Moore, a Sydney-based commodity strategist with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
“It is coming against a backdrop of previous extreme pessimism so any news or commitment to take action have a positive effect,” he said.
Meanwhile, OPEC announced on Thursday that it would hold an emergency meeting in Vienna on Nov. 18 to discuss the effects of the international financial crisis.
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