Oil prices jumped above $64 a barrel Monday as world stock markets rallied on news of a massive Chinese economic stimulus plan, Associated Press reported. Increasing evidence that OPEC production cutbacks were taking hold also helped support prices, it added. Light, sweet crude for December delivery was up $3.10 to $64.14 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe. The contract Friday rose 27 cents to settle at $61.04. China's $586 billion stimulus package announced Sunday helped lift Asian stock markets Monday. The Shanghai Composite Index surged 7.3 percent, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 5.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 4.8 percent. Crude oil prices were also bolstered by a falling dollar. The euro gained to $1.2848 on Monday from 1.2715 on Friday while the dollar rose to 99.00 yen. Oil prices have fallen about 56 percent since reaching a record $147.27 in mid-July. In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures jumped more than 7 cents to $2.05 a gallon, while gasoline prices gained 5.5 cents to $1.41 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery spiked 34 cents to $7.10 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, December Brent crude rose $3.11 to $60.46 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
