Oil higher

New York : Oil edged up on Wednesday, supported by a recovery in the equities market and on a technical bounce for crude after the biggest daily percentage drop in almost a year, but Brent futures stayed well below $70 a barrel.

Brent crude futures gained 48 cents, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $68.12 a barrel.

This followed a nearly 4 percent drop in Brent prices on Monday, the largest since June.

Brent had risen to $71 a barrel last week, close to its highest this year.

West Texas Intermediate futures rose 50 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $63.51 a barrel.

"There´s not really one catalyst for crude being up today," said John Macaluso, analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors.

The gains were in part the result of a technical rebound from Monday´s losses, as well as a recovery in the equities market, Macaluso said.