New York - The price of oil finished higher on Monday after a report showed United States manufacturing activity rose in September for the first time in four months.
That overshadowed a report that said US construction spending fell for a second straight month in August and a survey indicated manufacturing in China continues to slow.
Benchmark crude closed up 29 cents at $92.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 20 cents to $112.19 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.
Prices at the pump slipped to $3.782 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. But they're still 35 cents higher than they were a year ago. Low supplies of gasoline, particularly in the US Northeast, are keeping prices elevated.
Average gasoline prices this year are on track to be the highest ever, AAA said on Monday, topping last year's record of $3.51 per gallon. - Sapa-AP