World oil prices higher in Asian trade

World oil prices were higher in Asian trade Monday, mirroring gains in equity markets on improved investors confidence, dealers said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, advanced 1.08 dollars to 68.89 dollars a barrel from Friday's close of 67.81 dollars in the United States.
Brent North Sea crude for December delivery rose 60 cents to 65.92 dollars a barrel.
"Lately the oil markets have looked to the equity markets for implications to the macroeconomic outlook so there may be a bit of a bounce," said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.
Shum said prices were likely to trade within the 60-70 dollar range with more downside bias seen as longstanding worries about the global economy remained on investors' minds.
"Downward volatility is still greater than upward volatility at this point," said Shum.
"There is still a lot of concern about the impact of economy deceleration on oil demand," he said.
The US economy contracted at a 0.3 percent annualised pace in the third quarter as the global credit crunch saw consumers and businesses cut back on spending.
Analysts say a weak economy in the United States, the world's biggest energy user, will result in lower oil consumption, which will pressure prices lower.
Meanwhile, OPEC chief Chakib Khelil said Sunday the recent oil production cuts taken by the cartel in an attempt to boost prices will take a while to have an impact on the market.
This decision "will take a long time to take hold" because the demand for oil has still not reached OPEC's revised production level, Khelil, who is also the Algerian Energy Minister, told local radio in Algiers.