Paying more at the Pumps: Oil rises above $80
Pastor Dale Morgan
Paying more at the Pumps: Oil rises above $80 *
By ALEX KENNEDY
The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 20, 2009; 12:55 AM
SINGAPORE -- Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Tuesday in Asia,
extending a two-week rally as better-than-expected U.S. corporate
earnings boosted investor confidence.
Benchmark crude for November delivery rose as much as 44 cents to $80.05
a barrel but later fell back and was up 20 cents at $79.81 by midday
Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. The contract rose $1.08 to settle at $79.61 on Monday.
Crude reached $80 for the first time this year after Apple Inc. and
Texas Instruments Inc. reported third quarter earnings Monday that beat
analyst forecasts. Caterpillar Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and DuPont are
scheduled to report later Tuesday.
"Earnings have been fairly positive and everyone is looking for
positives right now," said Jonathan Kornafel, Asia director for market
maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.
Crude demand has remained sluggish this year as the global economy
recovers from recession. With the U.S. Federal Reserve keeping interest
rates at near zero percent, investors have flocked to stocks and
commodities to make money.
"This rally isn't based on fundamentals. It's about risk appetite,"
Kornafel said. "Money is looking for some kind of return."
In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 0.62 cent to $2.03 a gallon.
Gasoline for November delivery slipped 0.48 cent to $1.97 a gallon.
Natural gas for November delivery jumped 6.2 cents to $4.84 per 1,000
cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for December delivery rose 31 cents to $78.08 on
the ICE Futures exchange.