Oil prices rose strongly this evening, gaining for the second session on optimism surrounding economic recovery and weakness in the dollar. US crude oil rose $2.50 to $76.93 a barrel while Brent rose $2.61 to $75.72.
Monday's news that the US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index rose to its highest since August 2004 was a sign the world's top economy is recovering from the deepest recession in decades. This could boost oil demand.
Also supporting oil prices was news that China's appetite for foreign oil will stay near record levels in coming months due to a recovering economy, rising refining and stockpiling capacity. Despite optimism for oil demand, inventories of oil and refined products remain high.
The market is awaiting two sets of weekly US oil statistics due out later tonight from an industry group and tomorrow from the government.
