Crude Oil Futures Near $85 After Greek Elections

Crude oil futures gained Monday after pro-bailout parties won a slim majority in Greece's general elections Sunday.

Light sweet crude for July delivery gained 0.94 percent or 79 cents to $84.82 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asian trading hours. Brent crude oil futures for July delivery rose 1.13 percent or $1.1 to $98.71 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

In Sunday's general elections, the conservative New Democracy and PASOK parties that support Greece's bailout plans won enough seats to form a coalition government in Greece and provide relief across global markets as fears about the country's immediate exit from the single currency bloc receded.

The pro-bailout party's victory eased immediate concerns over the financial crisis in the euro zone and raised hopes that the debt-ridden country will support austerity measures to receive the much needed bailout package required to prevent its exit from the 17-nation single currency area.

However, the pro-bailout party's victory does not indicate that the Greek voters are embracing the tough reforms tied to the bailout package but only that their fear overruled anger.

The Greek people understood that if they voted to stay out of the euro, it would lead to sharply more pain in the immediate term. Consensus still believes that Greece will eventually leave the euro zone, and that the election has merely bought time for this eventuality, said a note from DBS Group Research.

Meanwhile, market participants will likely focus on the G20 leaders meet in Mexico Monday and Tuesday, where the euro zone crisis is expected to dominate the discussions, as well as the FOMC meeting and interest rate decision June 20.

The interest rate is expected to remain unchanged at 0.25 percent. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at historic lows in the range between 0 percent and 0.25 percent in an attempt to increase consumption and business operations by making borrowing cheaper to revive the economy.

The recent batch of disappointing economic readings from the U.S. signal that the recovery is slowing in the world's biggest economy while investors hope that the weak economic data, coupled with intensifying crisis in the euro zone, will force policymakers to announce further monetary easing measures to strengthen the recovery.