<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16705" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><STRONG><FONT size=4>Oil price leaps in biggest
one-day gain ever</FONT></STRONG></HEADLINE>
<DIV id=leadimage></DIV>
<DIV class=col2 id=adSpot-toolbox-1> </DIV>
<DIV class=col1>Oil prices spiked more than $US25 a barrel today - the biggest
one-day price jump ever - as anxiety over Washington's $US700-billion ($A840
billion) bail-out plan, a weak dollar and an expiring crude contract ignited a
dramatic rally.</DIV>
<P class=pageprint>Light, sweet crude for October delivery jumped as much as
$US25.45 to $US130 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling
back to settle at $US120.92, up $US16.37.</P>
<P class=pageprint>The contract expired at the end of the day, adding to the
volatility as traders rushed to cover positions; the October price began
accelerating sharply in the last hour of regular trading, a common occurrence
when a contract is about to go off the board.</P>
<P class=pageprint>Still, the rally, which shattered crude's previous one-day
price jump of $US10.75, set on June 6, showed the intensity of emotion in the
market. The Nymex temporarily halted electronic crude oil trading after prices
breached the $US10 daily trading limit. Trading resumed seconds later after the
daily limit was increased.</P>
<P class=pageprint>The November crude contract, which became the front-month
contract at the end of Monday's session, was trading at $US108.69, up $US5.94,
still a sharp gain.</P>
<P class=pageprint>In other trading, gold prices shot up more than $US44.30 to
settle at $US909 an ounce, and other safe-haven commodities also rallied,
underscoring investors' uncertainly about the direction of the economy and their
fear of more turmoil ahead.</P>
<P class=pageprint>"We're off to the races again," said Jim Ritterbusch,
president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois.
"There's a renewed scramble for commodities because of a general weakness in the
dollar." Crude has gained about $US30 in a dramatic four-day rally that has at
least temporarily halted oil's steep two-month slide below $US100. At this rate,
crude is within striking distance of its all-time record of $US147.27, reached
in July.</P>
<P class=pageprint>AP</P>
<DIV class=col1><BR></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>