Oil rises above $92 per barrel; pump price gains

[August 07, 2012]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil rose above $92 per barrel for the first time in more than two weeks on Monday.

Meanwhile, pump prices have risen to their highest level since early June.

Oil has gained nearly 20 percent since hitting a low of $77.69 in late June. That's meant higher pump prices for motorists during the summer driving season. The price of retail gas has increased about 29 cents since July 1, and is now within a dime of where it was a year ago.

Prices at the pump rose 5 cents over the weekend to a U.S. average of $3.619 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. Much of the increase was due to a spike in gasoline prices in the Midwest, where pipeline and refinery problems helped jack up pump prices last week by about 40 cents or more in some parts of Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 80 cents to finish at $92.20 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of crude, rose 61 cents to end at $109.55 per barrel in London.

Monday's increase for oil followed a big spike on Friday. That's when oil gained almost 5 percent after the U.S. government reported a surge in jobs growth last month, increasing optimism that the economy is on the right track. The pickup in hiring last month was far greater than analysts were expecting and marked the biggest increase since February. Still, the number of jobs added wasn't enough that investors are ruling out some sort of economic stimulus measures by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Other futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

• Wholesale gasoline fell .88 cents to $2.9222 a gallon.

• Heating oil rose 1.48 cents to $2.9409 a gallon.

• Natural gas fell rose 3.1 cents to $2.908 per 1,000 cubic feet.

[Associated Press]

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