Oil rises above $78, extends week-long rally

Oil prices continued a weeklong rally
Friday in Asia, jumping above $78 a barrel, after U.S.
gasoline inventories unexpectedly fell, AP reported.
Benchmark crude for November delivery rose as much as 59
cents to $78.17 before slipping back to $78.03 by midday
Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York
Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.40 to settle at
$77.58 on Thursday.
The Energy Information Administration said Thursday that
U.S. gasoline supplies fell 5.2 million barrels while
analysts had expected a jump of 1.6 million barrels,
according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm
of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Crude supplies rose 400,000 barrels, the EIA said, while
analysts had anticipated an 2.2 million barrel gain.
Until this week, oil had bounced between $65 and $75 since
May.
-- SPA