Oil Prices Continue Upward Trend

New York, NY, June 1, 2009--Oil prices rose past $68 a barrel Monday to a new high for the year, helped by gains in Asian stock markets amid hopes that the global slump is easing.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was up $1.78 to $68.09 a barrel by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices have almost doubled from below $35 a barrel in March as investors have taken heart from signs a severe recession in the U.S. is slowing. Asian markets rose Monday as surveys showed Chinese manufacturing expanded in May.

However, global oil demand remains weak and U.S. supplies are near 19-year highs. And higher oil prices could drag on any nascent recovery.