Earnings Optimism Keeps Oil Inching Higher

New York, NY, July 28, 2009--Oil prices moved closer to $70 per barrel Tuesday on anticipation that further positive economic news would extend a three-week rally.

Vienna's JBC Energy attributed the buoyancy of oil markets to "enthusiastically absorbed earning figures of selected companies.

"In the U.S., the release of second-quarter GDP estimates on Friday will be a first test to market optimism," said JBC's newsletter Tuesday.

Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 15 cents, at $68.53 a barrel by noon in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, the contract rose 33 cents to settle at $68.38.

Oil has surged from $58.78 a barrel earlier this month as solid second-quarter company earnings bolstered investor optimism that the global economy is recovering.