NEW YORK -- New York crude futures settled 79 cents higher Friday but remained under $50 per barrel.
The move up on the New York Mercantile Exchange appeared to reflect uncertainty in the Middle East surrounding the health of Yassar Arafat and encouraging reports on the United States' economy.
December crude settled at $49.61 per barrel while gasoline and heating oil picked up a fraction of a cent to settle at $1.286 and $1.374 per gallon, respectively.
NYMEX natural gas lost 24.5 cents to $7.954 per million British thermal units.
