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Oil rises above $64 on strong Q2 corporate results

Oil prices broke above $64 a barrel Monday in Asia as strong second quarter company results helped boost investor optimism.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was up 83 cents to $64.39 a barrel by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract jumped $1.54 to settle at $63.56.

Better than expected earnings last week from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Intel Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. eased some investor doubts about the chances of a U.S. economic recovery this year. Traders will be watching results this week from Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. for further clues about economic growth.

"Sentiment has been helped a great deal by the earnings reports so far," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "If the remaining reports paint an upbeat picture, that could sustain oil."

Oil has bounced from $58.78 a barrel last week after falling from an eight-month high of $73.23 on June 30.

Investors remain concerned about weak crude demand. Rising inventories of oil products, such as gasoline, suggest the recession has kept some U.S. drivers from hitting the road this summer.

"Weak fundamentals should keep a lid on prices," Shum said. "We have a glut of oil products."

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for August delivery rose 1.31 cents to $1.78 a gallon and heating oil gained 1.34 cents to $1.65. Natural gas for August delivery jumped 2.3 cents to $3.69 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent prices rose 84 cents to $66.20 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.