19
October
Oil jumps above $79 in Asia to 2009 high
19 October 2009 Yahoo News
Oil prices jumped above $79 a barrel to a 2009 high Monday in Asia as investors looked to the corporate earnings of big U.S. retailers this week for signs consumers may be regaining confidence.
Benchmark crude for November delivery rose as much as 52 cents to $79.05 a barrel but later fell back and was up 32 cents at $78.85 by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 95 cents to settle at $78.53 on Friday.
Last week, crude broke out of a five-month trading range between $65 and $75 a barrel on a weakening U.S. dollar and expectations that oil demand will eventually recover as the global economy grows next year.
