Oil hovers near $71 as investors eye US consumers

[August 10, 2009]  SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices hovered near $71 a barrel Monday in Asia as investors looked to signs later this week of the U.S. consumers' health.

Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 1 cent to $70.94 a barrel by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract fell $1.01 to settle at $70.93.

Crude prices have fluttered near $71 a barrel and $72 for about a week as investors try to gauge how strong a U.S. economic recovery will be this year. The government said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent in June, but gasoline demand has been weak this summer.

This week, the U.S. government will report July retail sales, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Macy's Inc. will announce their second quarter results.

"There's evidence that the economy as a whole is turning around," said Toby Hassall, an energy analyst with Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney. "But consumer demand is still really flagging."

"Over the next six to 12 months we're going to have to see evidence of the consumer sector picking up."

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery was steady at $2.01 a gallon and heating oil rose 0.54 cent to $1.92. Natural gas for September delivery gained 5.7 cents to $3.73 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent prices rose 7 cents to $73.66 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

[Associated Press; By ALEX KENNEDY]

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