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Oil pushes above $79 as Asian stocks gain


SINGAPORE — Oil prices rose above $79 a barrel in Asia on Monday as a regional stock market rally gave crude traders optimism. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 18 cents to $79.13 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 59 cents to settle at $78.95 on Friday. Almost all Asian stock markets rose Monday, led by a 1.3 percent increase in Hong Kong's Hang Seng index. Oil traders often look to equity markets as a reflection of overall investor sentiment. Oil has traded briefly above $80 this year before quickly sliding back into the $70s amid signs the US economic recovery may slow in the second half. The government said Friday that second-quarter gross domestic product rose 2.4 percent but demand — such as consumption, business investment and housing construction — gained 5.1 percent, a good sign for oil demand. "Anyone worried about a slowdown in US demand should have been tickled pink by the Q2 GDP figures," DBS bank said in a report. "High unemployment does not mean demand growth cannot be strong." Investors will be closely watching July employment figures. Analysts are expecting the economy lost 60,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in June. In other Nymex trading in September contracts, heating oil rose 0.40 cent to $2.0921 a gallon, gasoline gained 0.49 cent to $2.1273 a gallon and natural gas jumped 3.7 cents to 4.960 per 1,000 cubic feet. Brent crude was up 11 cents to $78.29 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange. — AP