New York, July 24 (Xinhua) The oil prices ended above $67 a barrel Thursday after data showed existing home sales jumped for the third straight month in June.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose $1.76, or 2.7 percent, to settle at $67.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of existing homes rose for the third month in a row and inventory continued to decline in June, signaling the housing market, which was regarded as one of the weakest links in the US economy, was recovering from the recession.

The stock market rose in response to home sales reports, with the Dow Jones industrial average jumping above 9,000 for the first time since early January, pushing oil prices higher.

Meanwhile the dollar traded near a seven-week-low against the euro, which also caused a surge in oil price.

In London, Brent crude for September delivery rose $2.06 to $69.27 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.