Oil rises above $100 a barrel
LONDON — Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel today as investors waited for details of a U.S. government plan that could help ease the credit crisis that has roiled global markets.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose $3.98 to $101.86 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange after word of the plan eased concerns that demand for energy would fall sharply amid a weakening world economy.
"The market is taking guidance from some mild restoration of confidence in the U.S., but the market still remains cautious," said Mark Pervan, senior commodity strategist with ANZ Bank in Melbourne. "For the moment they have calmed some fears, but there will be a lot of fence-sitting before the plan comes out."
Oil prices have fallen about $50 since reaching a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11 on concern that slowing economic growth in developed countries will undermine crude demand.
