Oil prices hang below $93 holding gains from previous dayMay 22, 2012 - 10:57 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil prices hung below $93 a barrel Tuesday, May 22 in Asia, holding gains from the previous day as crude followed global stock markets higher, the Associated Press reported. Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 10 cents to $92.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.09 to settle at $92.57 in New York on Monday. Brent crude for July delivery was up 10 cents at $108.91 per barrel in London. Crude has slumped from $106 earlier this month because of signs global economic growth may slow more than expected this year. The possibility that Europe's debt crisis will cripple the continent's economy and crimp demand for oil also helped drag stock markets and commodities lower last week. But Asian markets gained Tuesday after Wall Street perked up in its first trading session of the week. Crude traders often look to stocks as a measure of overall investor sentiment. Some analysts say crude will likely rebound amid a slowly improving U.S. economy and strong demand from developing countries. "Barring the worst fears of financial markets, prices are likely to recover from current levels as market fundamentals reassert themselves," National Australia Bank said in a report. Traders are also closely watching China, where data in recent months has suggested growth in the world's second-largest crude consumer is weakening. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said over the weekend that his government is ready to make more moves to boost growth. In other energy trading, heating oil was up 0.4 cent at $2.87 per gallon and gasoline futures was steady at $2.86 per gallon. Natural gas gained 4.1 cents at $2.65 per 1,000 cubic feet. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |