Oil recovers, hovers around $61

I / Singapore July 9, 2009, 10:19 IST

Oil recovered modestly in Asian trade today after overnight falls in reaction to a bigger-than-expected drop in US gasoline reserves, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery was 54 cents higher at $60.68 a barrel.  

Brent North Sea crude for August delivery advanced 62 cents to $61.05.

Crude prices are expected to remain under pressure in the immediate term due to worries about weak US energy demand, which has been further reinforced by the latest gasoline data, analysts said.  

Today's rebound in Asia was not strong enough to suggest investor concerns over the US economy, the world's biggest energy consumer, have eased, they said.  

"Until we see a decline in gasoline supplies, you can't really see the fundamentals improving much," clarified Benjamin Westmore, a Melbourne-based commodities economist with the National Australia Bank.  

"There are some things that are improving but overall the situation is still weak."  

Data released on Wednesday by the US Department of Energy (DoE) showed the country's gasoline reserves increased by 1.9 million barrels in the week ending July 3, more than double analysts' consensus forecast.