Updated on
Summary The price of oil climbed with investors focusing on upbeat news about the US economy.
Benchmark crude rose 44 cents to $92.60 per barrel in afternoon trading in New York, and Brent crude rose 46 cents to $110 a barrel in London.Prices headed higher following a report that said the private sector added 111,000 jobs in October. The Automatic Data Processing report said most of those gains were in the services industry.The Federal Reserve ended a two-day meeting on Wednesday. As expected, there were no new policy announcements. In a statement Fed officials said the US economy is getting stronger and consumers are spending more, but there is still downside risk. The central bank said it could take more steps later, if the economy stays sluggish.The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that US oil supplies rose more than analysts expected last week. And gasoline supplies rose as well, with demand for gasoline about 4 percent lower than a year ago.In other energy trading, heating oil was down 2 cents at $3.30211 per gallon, while gasoline futures rose 2 cents to $2.6430 per gallon. Natural gas rose 1 cent to $3.79 per 1,000 cubic feet.
