Oil prices finish 2005 above US$61 in New York

Oil futures settled above 61 dollars a barrel Friday and finished 40 percent higher than they started in 2005.

Light sweet crude for February delivery rose 72 cents to settle at 61.04 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which closed at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT) in a shortened session ahead of the New Year's holiday weekend.

Nymex trading will resume Jan. 3.

Natural gas futures climbed 4.7 cents to 11.27 dollars a day after the Energy Department said domestic storage of natural gas stood at 2.64 trillion cubic feet on Dec. 23. That is 8 percent below year-ago levels and 1 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.

Heating oil futures rose 2.51 cents to 1.728 dollars a gallon, while gasoline futures gained 5.76 cents to 1.71 dollars a gallon.

On the ICE Futures exchange in London, Brent crude rose 90 cents to settle at 58.97 dollars a barrel.

Source: Xinhua