Oil prices up in Asian trade

Oil prices were higher in Asian trade today as hopes that the worst is over for the global economy overshadowed worries about the swine flu outbreak, analysts said.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, was up 20 cents to $ 53.40 a barrel.Brent North Sea crude for June delivery gained 14 cents to $ 52.99.

"Expectations that the market has bottomed out has caused a lot of upward momentum in prices," said Ben Westmore, an energy analyst with the National Australia Bank."At the moment, oil markets and equity markets are very closely related."

Asian stock markets were higher in early trade Monday following gains in US stocks last week.Signs that the United States, the world's biggest energy consumer, may have hit the bottom helped lift oil prices because a strong economy means greater energy demand.

On Friday, new data showed that the pace of contraction of the US factory sector in April was less severe than expected.The Institute of Supply Management said its index of the manufacturing sector, also known as the purchasing managers (PMI) index, rose to 40.1 per cent from 36.3 per cent in March - the highest reading since September and the fourth straight uptick.