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LONDON – Oil prices soared above 82 dollars this week as traders took their cue from better-than-expected US jobs data, firmer stock markets and the latest news flow on the Greek debt crisis.

The devastating earthquake in Chile, meanwhile, sent tremors through the copper market because the South American country is the worlds biggest producing nation, traders said.

On Friday, data showed that the US economy, a major consumer of raw materials, lost 36,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent.

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London – Oil prices topped 80 dollars a barrel on Monday as a strike at French energy giant Total and concerns over Irans nuclear program rattled the market, analysts said.

New Yorks main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, hit an intra-day high of 80.51 dollars a barrel. It later stood at 80 dollars, up 19 cents compared with Fridays close.

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery gained 25 cents to 78.44 dollars at about 1230 GMT.

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PARIS: World oil demand and prices will rise this year, driven higher by strong growth in emerging economies, the International Energy Agency said Thursday, revising upward earlier forecasts.

The Paris-based agency said demand was now expected to be 86.5 million barrels per day in 2010 compared to a forecast last month of 86.3 million, while average prices will rise to $75 per barrel from 58 in 2009.

Demand growth is expected to come “entirely” from outside the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a grouping of 30 developed economies including Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the United States.

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VIENNA – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held its forecast for modest growth in world oil demand this year Wednesday, but warned the slow pace of economic recovery was clouding the outlook.

On the other hand, world oil prices rose further, mirroring rebounding global stock markets, as hopes grew for a potential EU bailout of debt-ridden Greece, traders said.

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JEDDAH – Rebounding oil prices and global stocks boosting sentiment across the Gulf regions, with Saudi, Dubai and Abu Dhabi benchmarks closing in positive territory.

Dubais index rose 1.5 percent to 1,648 points. Abu Dhabis benchmark climbed 1 percent to 2,691 points.

Saudi Arabias measure rose 0.22 percent to 6,256.48 points. Omans index fell 0.5 percent to 6,483 points. Kuwaits index edged up 0.02 percent to 7,016 points. Bahrains index slipped 0.1 percent to 1,484 points.

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NEW YORK/LONDON/TOKYO – World markets fell Friday, led by bank stocks after President Barack Obama proposed a sweeping overhaul of Wall Street to avert future financial crises.

Obama said he would seek to limit the size and complexity of large financial institutions so that their collapse wouldnt imperil the broader financial system and world economy or cost taxpayer money in bailouts.

The announcement spooked investors, causing a sell-off in North America, Europe and Asia.

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NEW YORK: Share prices dropped sharply on Thursday after US President Barack Obama proposed new limits on top American banking risk profiles, spurring US Treasury purchases but undercutting gains for the US dollar.

Obama said he is ready to fight the financial sector and its lobbyists for rules that would bar banks from owning, sponsoring or investing in hedge funds or private equity funds for their own profit, causing a bank share sell-off.

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NEW YORK – World oil prices skidded Thursday as traders reacted to a bearish US energy report that signaled weak demand in the worlds biggest energy-consuming nation.

New Yorks main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, tumbled $1.66 to close at $76.08 a barrel on the first day of trading of the new futures contract. On Wednesday crude had fallen by $1.40.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March shed $1.74 to settle at $74.58.

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LONDON – The price of oil briefly struck a 15-month high close to $84 on Monday in the wake of positive Chinese energy data and as a cold snap raised demand for heating fuel, analysts said.

New Yorks main futures contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, hit an intra-day peak of $83.95 a barrel.

That was the highest point since October 2008 – a date that preceded a collapse in prices caused by the global financial crisis.

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NEW YORK: The US dollar gained across the board on Wednesday and tempered a much better-than-expected reading of business activity in the US Midwest, which failed to add more upside to this years huge stock market recovery.

European shares snapped a six-day winning streak in thin trade, and US stocks eased, also in light trading. Earlier, Japans Nikkei slipped 0.9 percent in its final 2009 session. The Nikkei banked a 19 percent gain for the year, and regional European shares were looking at annual gains of about 25 percent, as was the benchmark Standard & Poors 500 Index.

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