OIL prices rose yesterday as stock market gains encouraged investors to buy back into the crude market after heavy losses last week, when weak U.S. jobs figures disappointed expectations.

Benchmark crude for September delivery rose 78 cents to settle at US$81.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil has stayed above US$80 a barrel for six straight sessions.

Oil prices matched an increase in U.S. stock markets as traders and investors waited to see if the Federal Reserve plans to launch new economic stimulus programs after its Tuesday meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 45 points in afternoon trading. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 were slightly higher.

Oil traders have been closely watching the stock markets to gauge consumer confidence in the economy, which Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently characterized as "unusually uncertain."

Oil's fall on Friday was sparked by a Labor Department report that showed private employers hired 71,000 workers in July - way below the level needed to lower the unemployment rate which remained stuck at 9.5 percent.

That suggests U.S. demand for fuel will remain subdued as Americans keep a tight rein on personal spending.

Several experts continued to highlight the fact that oil prices seem currently influenced more by technical considerations rather than fundamental principles of global supply and demand.

"The oil price is currently more influenced by technical indicators than by the demand-supply situation," said a report from Commerzbank in Frankfurt, which also said crude could come under pressure if it fell below the "psychologically important" mark of US$80. "From a fundamental view, this decline would be welcomed, because the oil market continues to be in strong oversupply at current prices."

In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil rose 0.66 cent to settle at US$2.1538 a gallon, gasoline gained 0.60 cent to settle at US$2.1187 a gallon and natural gas fell 15.8 cents to settle at US$4.309 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude added 83 cents to settle at US$80.99 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• barrel [´bærəl] n.(琵琶)桶；圆筒 (初中英语单词)
• federal [´fedərəl] a.联邦的，联邦制的 (初中英语单词)
• industrial [in´dʌstriəl] a.工业的，产业的 (初中英语单词)
• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi] n.经济；机制；组织 (初中英语单词)
• fundamental [,fʌndə´mentl] a.基本的 n.原理 (初中英语单词)
• pressure [´preʃə] n.压榨 vt.对...施压力 (初中英语单词)
• delivery [di´livəri] n.送交；分娩；交货 (高中英语单词)
• launch [lɔ:ntʃ] vt.发动 n.发射；汽艇 (高中英语单词)
• consumer [kən´sju:mə] n.消费者；用户 (高中英语单词)
• unemployment [,ʌnim´plɔimənt] n.失业；失业人数 (高中英语单词)
• technical [´teknikəl] a.技术的；专门性的 (高中英语单词)
• gallon [´gælən] n.加伦 (高中英语单词)
• gasoline [´gæsəli:n] n.汽油 (高中英语单词)
• stimulus [´stimjuləs] n.刺激(物)；促进因素 (英语四级单词)