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Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Tuesday as bullish US manufacturing data combined with gains in Asian equities markets to push the market up, analysts said.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, broke past the 75 dollar-level in morning trade, gaining 58 cents to 75.01 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March was up 63 cents to 73.74 dollars.
Strong numbers reported by the US Institute of Supply Management (ISM) on Monday showing a surge in manufacturing activity in January, as well as advances on Asian equities markets, inspired crude traders, analysts said.
"Oil pricing continues to gain primarily based on the past day's financial increases in equities and the good manufacturing news out of the US," said Victor Shum, senior principal of Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore.
The ISM said its manufacturing index, also known as the purchasing managers index, climbed to 58.4 percent in January, the best number since 2004 and well ahead of the 50 percent that indicates growth.
Rises in Asian equities markets also added steam to the crude rally, with major bourses such as the Hang Seng and Nikkei-225 indexes heading up in morning trade, Shum added.
Crude prices would likely hover around current price levels in the week ahead, he said.
"In the near term, pricing will likely stay around the mid-70s level. When we see more signs of economic recovery, prices will creep back to 80 dollars but that might be in a few weeks," Shum added.
