Light oil futures trading up around 6 percent

Oil extended gains well above $67 a barrel on Friday, after a 5.7 percent jump in the previous session on US data and earnings which renewed hopes of an economic recovery and drove up equity and commodities markets.

But the latest jump merely erased Wednesday's hefty losses on rising US crude inventories and falling refinery utilization, with oil heading for its first monthly percentage fall since January, of around 4 percent.

US light crude for September delivery rose 44 cents to $67.38 a barrel by 12:32 a.m. EDT, having settled up 5.67 percent on Thursday, its biggest one-day gain since April 9. London Brent crude gained 34 cents to $70.45.

"Short-term fundamentals are weak but prices are moving up on expectations of an economic recovery. The market is driven by the medium- and longer-term outlook," said Tony Nunan, risk manager at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.