Crude prices gain over $2 in New York, London

Crude oil prices rebounded Thursday after the US dollar weakened and the Commerce Department reported that the US gross domestic product was up at a 3.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, a strong indication that the US has exited the recession.

December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added $2.41 to $79.87 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, more than gaining back the loss it suffered Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline stockpiles gained last week instead of dropping as had been expected.

Meanwhile, in London, December contracts for Brent crude gained $2.48 to $78.34 percent on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Nymex November gasoline futures were 3 cents higher to $2.02 per gallon and December heating oil was up 6 cents to $2.08 per gallon while December natural gas traded even at $5.06 per million British thermal units.

The gains came even though crude oil and gasoline inventories keep going up and demand remains weak.

Also gaining was the retail price of a gallon of gasoline in the US, which added 0.8 cent overnight to $2.691 per gallon on average, ten cents higher than last year at this time and over 20 cents more than last month.