KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 14): Shares of Bursa Malaysia-listed oil and gas (O&G) stocks continued to be actively traded today, as Brent crude oil breached US$64 a barrel to rise to its highest level in nearly three months. 

Gainers included Sapura Energy Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd and Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd which were up 3 sen or 10.91%, 1 sen or 4.44%, and 3.5 sen or 3.52% respectively this afternoon. 

Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd and Velesto Energy Bhd also climbed 4 sen or 5.2%, and 1 sen or 4.65% respectively.

Also actively-traded was Barakah Offshore Petroleum Bhd, down 0.5 sen or 3.57%, after having climbed to a three-month high of 14.5 sen yesterday. 

While oil prices may have risen in recent days, the increase in share prices of O&G counters today may not be indicative of a general trend, said Alex Goh, analyst at AmInvestment Bank. 

“Oil prices are a little bit more positive, there is some correlation, but we will need to see more sustainability or stability in the oil price trend,” he told theedgemarkets.com. 

According to Reuters, the increase in oil prices today were supported by hopes that the potential progress in US-China trade negotiations would improve the global economic outlook, as well as higher-than-expected Chinese crude import figures. 

Goh said geopolitical factors, including the potential nuclear sanctions on Iran by the US and the possible shift in Venezuelan oil exports to Asian countries, including Malaysia, would have to be watched closely.