|
 NEW YORK (AP) - Crude oil futures settled at $68 a barrel on Friday, their highest close since September, while gasoline futures extended their rally, raising the prospect that prices at the pump will stabilize and possibly even rise after falling for several weeks.
Analysts say oil prices were boosted by unrest in the Middle East and a lower-than-expected core inflation figure, which encouraged investors to move money from fixed income investments to commodities. But oil futures also followed the lead of gas futures, said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading Group, in Tampa, Fla.
Gas futures have risen several days this week after a government report Wednesday that shocked traders by showing gasoline inventories remained flat as refineries used less of their capacity than they had the week before.
|