Oil briefly back above $61 per barrel

Crude oil prices briefly spiked back above the $61 per barrel level on Monday on the announcement from North Korea that it had tested a nuclear device, but West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude both dropped back below that level later in the session.  Brent crude for November delivery reached as high as $61.38 per barrel, but later backed off to $60.99 per barrel, a gain of $1.16.  WTI meanwhile, hit a session high of $61.09 per barrel but was later up 87 cents to $60.63 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.