Oil settles above $105 on Mideast, gas demand
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Oil prices made up for a week-long slump following the Japanese earthquake and are now trading at the highest levels since September 2008. Prices climbed early Wednesday after an Energy Department report showed that gasoline consumption in the US continues to grow despite sharp price increases at the pump.
Traders also kept a wary eye on pro-democracy protests and outright rebellions in North Africa and the Middle East. The region supplies 27% of the world's oil. Crude prices jumped after a bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop in central Jerusalem, killing one person and wounding nearly 40 others. (AP)
