Oil extends gains to $66By Chris Flood
Published: May 29 2009 11:59 | Last updated: May 29 2009 17:16
Crude oil prices were on course on Friday for their strongest monthly rise in more than 10 years following this week’s Opec meeting where the oil producers’ group delivered a surprisingly upbeat assessment of demand.
Nymex July West Texas Intermediate hit a seven-month high of $66.47 on Friday befor
e easing to trade 92 cents higher at $66 a barrel, up 7 per cent this week.
US crude prices have risen 29.1 per cent in May, on track for their best monthly performance since March 1999.
ICE July Brent gained 76 cents to $65.15 a barrel, up 7.2 per cent this week.
Abdalla El-Badri, Opec’s secretary-general, said oil prices could rise to $70-$75 a barrel by the end of the year.
“The outlook is improving,” said Mr El-Badri, who also conceded that the market’s fundamentals were “still weak”.
