TD: Oil rises above US$86 in Europe midday as investors eye stronger US economy
UNDATED (AP) - Oil prices has risen above US$86 a barrel on a weaker dollar and after robust U.S. retail sales in March pointed to growing consumer demand in the world's biggest energy market.
By early afternoon in Europe Friday, benchmark crude for May delivery was up 84 cents to US$86.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 49 cents to settle at US$85.39 on Thursday.
"The oil market is behaving the same way as we have seen during the past several weeks: 'one step back, two steps forward,'" said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt.
