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International crude oil prices rose Friday following a week-long decline, after the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a new Iraq solution aimed at forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or face "serious consequences" that could mean war.
The price of crude oil for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) closed at 25.78 dollars per barrel, up 40 cents from Thursday's close. December gasoline futures grew 1.14 cents to 71.28 cents a gallon, but December heating oil fell 0.74 cent to 68.88 cents a gallon.
In London, the December North Sea Brent crude oil futures climbed 10 cents to 23.58 dollars a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.
The market moved up following a unanimous vote on the tougher resolution. After the vote, President George W. Bush said that the United States and other nations will seek to disarm Iraq if it fails to comply with the resolution, spurring further buying in New York.
Meanwhile, Venezuela's oil minister said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will use the group's price-band mechanism to defend oil prices if they continue to fall.
International crude oil prices have risen more than 50 percent in the first nine months, boosted by the possibility of a US military strike against Iraq and the decision made earlier this year by OPEC to cut production quota.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2002)
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