Oil Closes Above $55 a Barrel for First Time in New York

October 22, 2004 5:00 AM, EDT

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he price of crude oil closed above $55 a barrel in New York for the first time on Friday, Bloomberg reported.

Crude oil for December delivery rose 70 cents to $55.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices reached $55.30, highest since futures began trading in 1983.

Oil futures were 84% higher than a year earlier. The December contract increased 2.2% this week.

In London, the December Brent crude-oil futures contract rose 53 cents to $51.25 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange. Brent futures reached $51.65, the highest since the contract began trading in 1988.

Prices rose after a report found that the Chinese economy grew more than expected, Bloomberg reported. China is the world's second-largest oil consumer after the United States.

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