Marginal increase in oil prices after holiday weekend

30-May-06

Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose to US$71.75 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore. A marginal increase was seen in oil prices after a three-day holiday weekend. Monday's Memorial Day holiday in America marks the traditional start of summer, when many families go on driving trips, and gasoline demand peaks. This year, gasoline demand is likely to see amore than normal increase as Americans are more likely to take domestic vacations due to a weakening U.S. dollar and rising airline ticket prices, Also under watch is the June 1 official start of the U.S. hurricane season, which is expected to be active this year. The market is also awaiting the results of OPEC meeting in Caracas, on Thursday, where output is expected to be unchanged, although Venezuela is pushing for cut on the grounds that the market was well supplied.