By Polya Lesova
FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Oil futures rose above $84 a barrel on Thursday, extending their gains after settling at the highest level since October 2008 in the previous session. Crude oil for May delivery gained 47 cents to $84.23 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. Earlier, the contract hit an intraday high of $84.67 a barrel. On Wednesday, May crude rose 2% to end at $83.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. "As oil prices have recently hit the highest level since October 2008, the $84-per-barrel threshold may be surpassed if the rise continues after the end-of-quarter activity," said analysts at Vienna-based JBC Energy in a note. "In recent weeks, the relationship between financial markets and oil prices has been stronger than the euro/dollar relationship."
