Oil price rises above $91 on signs of growth

After bracing for a possible recession in the U.S. and Europe, analysts say investors have changed course. Theyre now trading with the expectation that Western economies will keep growing this year albeit slowly. As the economy strengthens, demand for oil rises to run factories and fill drivers gas tanks.The market was being held back by fear of a recession, PFGBest analyst Phil Flynn said. We havent seen stellar economic numbers so far, (but) they havent been recessionary.Benchmark crude rose $3.87, or 4.4 percent, to finish at $91.27 per barrel in New York. Prices havent been above $91 per barrel since August 5. Brent crude rose $1.89 to end at $111.45 a barrel in London.Prices rose after news of a string of acquisitions and a better profit forecast from Caterpillar sparked a rally on Wall Street. The Dow jones industrial average and the S&P 500 were up about 1 percent. The Nasdaq was up more than 2 percent.HSBC said that Chinas manufacturing sector continues to expand. The banks measure of industrial production showed Chinese manufacturing activity increased from last month. Energy demand tends to rise as factories crank into a higher gear. Analysts took the report as a sign that China, the second biggest oil consumer behind the U.S., will continue to drive increases in world oil demand this year.Japan said exports rose 2.4 percent last month, as its economy recovers from the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March.Meanwhile European financial leaders planned to boost the eurozones bailout fund to help keep banks in Italy and Spain from being engulfed in the regions debt crisis. The European Financial Stability Fund is designed to insure banks against potential losses and to keep money flowing through the economy.In other energy trading, heating oil rose 3.83 cents to finish at $3.0542 per gallon and gasoline futures increased 1.21 cents to end at $2.6703 per gallon. Natural gas fell 2.5 cents to finish the day at $3.604 per 1,000 cubic feet.