Oil rallies further into the $70s

Oil prices surged past $71 a barrel Wednesday on the back of a global stock market rally and ahead of the government’s weekly supply report.

Light sweet crude for July delivery rallied $1.35, or almost 2%, to $71.36 a barrel, having risen as high as $71.65.

On Tuesday, oil gained more than 2.8% to end above $70 for the first time in 7 months. Since the end of 2008, oil has doubled in price.

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Oil prices piggybacked on the global stock market rally. Asian shares were up between 2% and 4% and European markets were up between 1% and 2%. U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street.

Investor sentiment was boosted by a Supreme Court decision late Tuesday that clears the way for Chrysler to sell most of its assets to Italian car maker Fiat and emerge swiftly from bankruptcy. The beleaguered auto industry has been struggling to get back on its feet.

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