Benchmark Nymex crude for October delivery was up 17 cents to $74.06 a barrel in Asian midday trade on Globex, after hitting an intraday high of $74.35 earlier.
The September natural gas contract, meanwhile, lost 3.4 cents to $2.770 per million British thermal units.
Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, front-month oil futures gained 98 cents to end at $73.89 a barrel. But the gas contract slumped 14.10 cents, or 4.8% to finish at $2.804 per mbtu, its lowest finish since Aug. 9, 2002, on a glut of supplies. See full story.
"Given the latest inventory increase, we don't think [gas prices] can break above $3 in the near term. On the contrary, the market is likely to remain weak," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a report.
In Asian stock markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 Average jumped 2.8% to 10,528.49 in late trading, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.9%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.8%, India's Sensex traded 1.8% higher, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 2.8%.
