Oil prices edge up in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices edged up in early Asian trade on Tuesday, with the market continuing to be volatile, dealers said.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for May delivery, rose four cents to 51.09 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for May gained six cents to 52.30.

"The oil market seems to be linking itself to the equities market... some lead strengthening seems to be pushing the (oil) market up," said David Johnson, an oil analyst with Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong.

But prices dropped more than a dollar on Monday, and some analysts cautioned that trade would remain volatile in the face of the global slowdown and softer demand.

"Traders are certainly realising that we are not out of the woods on the demand side, and that perhaps the optimism that was shown over the last few days was a little bit premature," said Bart Melek of BMO Capital Markets.

The worldwide slump has cut energy demand, with prices far off their record peaks above 147 dollars last July.