Oil prices rise above $49

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

Graphics shows the price of light, sweet

crude oil in the past 13 months. The price of light, sweet crude for April

delivery rose 1.81 dollars to settle at 49.16 dollars a barrel on the New

York Mercantile Exchange, which is the highest closing price in more than

three months. on March 17, 2009.(Chinese media/Zhang Liyun)
Photo

Gallery

NEW YORK, March 17 (Chinese media) -- Crude oil prices

continued to gain and closed above 49 U.S. dollars a barrel on Tuesday on the

rally in the stocks market.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 1.81

dollars to settle at 49.16 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange,

which is the highest closing price in more than three months.

Crude futures obtained support from the U.S. stocks

market which surged on positive economic data. The U.S. Commerce Department

reported Tuesday that new home construction jumped 22.2 percent from January to

a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 583,000 units in February. Applications for

building permits also rose in February by 3 percent to an annual rate of

547,000. Economists were expecting both readings to drop.

A worker fills gas for a car at a gas

station in New York, capital of the United States, on March 17,

2009.(Chinese media/Liu Xin)
Photo Gallery

Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor

Department said wholesale prices edged up 0.1 percent in February with a 1.3

percent increase in energy prices. Gasoline prices jumped 8.7 percent in

February, which boosted investors' confidence that the outlook of the energy

demand will possibly revive with the coming of driving season.

In London, Brent crude for May delivery gained 1.78

dollars to settle at 48.24 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures

Exchange.

A worker fills gas for a car at a gas

station in New York, capital of the United States, on March 17, 2009. U.S.

light crude for April delivery settled up $1.81 at $49.16 on the

expiration day for April crude oil options, the highest settle since Dec.

1, 2008. (Chinese media/Liu Xin)
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Gallery

U.S. refinery expansion delayed by

poor market

HOUSTON, March 17 (Chinese media) --

Houston-based refiner Motiva Enterprises is delaying the planned completion of

the expansion of its Port Arthur refinery due to poor market conditions, the

company's spokesman said Tuesday.

Motiva, a joint venture between Shell Oil and Saudi

Refining Inc., had planned to complete the 7-billion-U.S.-dollar project by late

2010, but now has to postpone it until the first quarter of 2012, local media

quoted Motiva spokesman Stan Mays as saying. Full story

U.S. stocks rally on economic

data

NEW YORK, March 17

(Chinese media) -- U.S. stocks staged a strong rally on Tuesday as better-than-expected

economic reports helped offset disappointing corporate news.

The U.S. Labor Department reports wholesale prices

edged up 0.1 percent in February, which was smaller than the 0.4 percent

increase economists had expected.Full story

Dollar rises slightly against most

major currencies

NEW YORK,

March 17 (Chinese media) -- The dollar rose slightly against most major currencies on

Tuesday as investors chose to be cautious ahead of rate decisions from the U.S.

and Japan.

Federal Open Market Committee, the monetary

policymaking body of the U.S. Federal Reserve, began a two-day meeting on

Tuesday. Analysts expected that the U.S. central bank would hold key rate

unchanged at a level near zero and announce more plans to stabilize the

financial system. Full story

Gold falls for second session as

economy sentiment eases

CHICAGO,

March 17 (Chinese media) -- Gold futures on the COMEX Division of the New York

Mercantile Exchange declined for the second straight day Tuesday on speculation

that the economy turmoil eased as stock market bounced continuously, further

reducing gold's safe-haven appeal. Silver ended lower too, while platinum rose

slightly.

Gold price for April delivery was down 5.20 U.S.

dollars, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 916.80 dollars an ounce. May silver closed

at 12.67 dollars per ounce, losing 22 cents. April platinum gained2.40 dollars

to 1,051.80 dollars per ounce. Full story