NEW YORK, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as fears of a global banking crisis eased.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery gained 1.69 U.S. dollars, or 2.5 percent, to settle at 69.33 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for May delivery added 1.53 dollars, or 2.07 percent, to close at 75.32 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
"We got through more than 24 hours without a bank failure and that put an upward tilt to oil," Phil Flynn, senior analyst at The PRICE Futures Group, said in a note on Tuesday.
Financial markets calmed down after the takeover of Credit Suisse. Fears that U.S. regional lender First Republic Bank was on the brink also receded as other bankers work on plans to shore up the bank along with a cash infusion of 30 billion U.S. dollars.
Traders also awaited data on U.S. crude stockpiles as the U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly petroleum status report on Wednesday. ■