London (Platts)--29May2009

Global crude futures retained their upward momentum Friday, leaping to
new intra-day highs as the US dollar lost value, equities markets edged up and
technical buy signals were triggered.

ICE Brent crude futures for July delivery broke through the $65/barrel
mark, leaping to a fresh intra-day high of $65.43/b. By 1038 GMT, the contract
stood at $65.37/b, up 98 cents on the day. The equivalent NYMEX light, sweet
crude contract traded $1.03/b higher at $66.11/b, having hit a new intra-day
high of $66.17/b, its highest level since November 5.

"The market looks very bullish from a technical point of view," a trader
said, adding that significant Fibonacci retracement levels had been crossed.

"Risk appetite is growing. Funds are buying...Sentiment is getting
positive. Although the situation isn't great [fundamentally], everybody
expects demand to pick up," the trader added.

Sources also noted that crude is now at a higher price level than its
200-day moving average, which consultant Olivier Jakob called a "significant
technical trigger that will override considerations of fundamentals or
correlations to exogenous market[s]."

"The positive crossover of the 200-day moving average on Wednesday
brought with it a noticeable increase of open interest," he said in his latest
daily note.

Another trader highlighted the weakness of the US dollar, with the ICE US
dollar index losing the 80 point support line to 79.57, and the effect of the
forthcoming US driving season. NYMEX RBOB front-month futures rose 1.8 cents
to $1.93/gallon.

"[Saudi oil minister Ali] Naimi's comments two days ago that the Saudis
see demand picking up in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America is a very
positive sign," Societe Generale's head of research, Michael Wittner, said.

"We can't see that yet in the statistics, but that is a source that we
take very seriously."

He also cited the effect of an unexpected 5.4 million barrel crude draw
in the US, reported Thursday by the US Department of Energy. "But the US data
were not bullish throughout. The demand figure was very ugly," he added.

US demand for middle distillates dropped by 9.9% year-on-year, while
gasoline demand was down 0.4%, the DOE said.

The buoyancy of crude futures came despite comments from oil tanker
tracking agency Oil Movements that crude sailings from OPEC countries "are set
for a fifth consecutive four-week increase" and that fixtures for OPEC cargoes
were rising sharply.

"As a directional indicator, this is only a rough guide, but it is
certainly a signal that a serious decline is unlikely in the near term.
Compliance [with OPEC targets] looks set to 'dis-improve,' rather than
otherwise."

ICE gasoil and NYMEX heating oil front-month futures reflected the
strength of the crude market, jumping $15 and 2.56 cents, respectively, to
$519.5/mt and $1.63/gal.