Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The price of oil is rising on news that U.S. consumer confidence is at the highest level since February.

Benchmark oil gained 92 cents to $92.85 per barrel Tuesday in New York.

The Conference Board's latest survey shows Americans are more optimistic about the availability of jobs and the outlook over the next six months. It's an important measure because consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.

A separate report is showing that national housing prices are higher than they were a year ago.

In other trading, Brent crude is up $1.14 to $110.95 per barrel in London.

At the pump, AAA says the national average price for gasoline increased less than a penny overnight to $3.81 per gallon. That's up about 6 cents from a month ago.