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
