"SINGAPORE — Oil prices reached a fresh one-year high above $75 a barrel Thursday in Asia on a weaker U.S. dollar and growing investor optimism about an economic recovery.

Benchmark crude for November delivery was up 50 cents to $75.68 by late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier it reached $75.96, the highest since October 2008. The contract added $1.03 to settle at $75.18 on Wednesday.

Oil investors have fed off rising stock markets and a falling dollar this week to break out of a $65 to $75 trading range that had held since May."

Alex Kennedy reports for the Associated Press October 15, [2]