"SINGAPORE -- Oil prices  rose above $84 a barrel Thursday in Asia, extending a two-month rally amid surging regional stock markets ahead of the Good Friday holiday.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 68 cents to $84.44 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract climbed by $1.39 to settle at $83.76 on Wednesday.

Oil prices have jumped from $69 a barrel in early February on investor expectations that a gradual recovery in the U.S. economy this year will eventually boost crude consumption."

Alex Kennedy reports for the Associated Press April 1, 2010.
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See Also:

"Regulator Seeks To Rein in Energy Market Trading by Big Wall Street Firms" (Washington Post) [3]