Reply #3: Oil prices rise above $50 on Obama economy team [View All]

[ozymandius]

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose above $50 a barrel Monday in Asia as investors gained some confidence from reports that U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has chosen an economic team to tackle what could be the worst slowdown in decades.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 59 cents to $50.52 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract Friday rose 51 cents to settle at $49.93.

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"The lack of clarity as to who exactly is in charge of steering the U.S. economy is really hurting the equity markets," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "So putting together the new team gives a bit of a reassurance to the market, even if Obama isn't president yet."

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In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 0.97 cent to $1.07 a gallon. Heating oil was steady at $1.70 a gallon while natural gas for December delivery jumped 18 cents to $6.66 per 1,000 cubic feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices