Crude Ends Slightly Higher in Volatile Day
NEW YORK--Oil futures finished slightly higher, after signs of progress in Europe's debt crisis vaulted markets into positive territory late in the day.</br></br>The higher close capped a day of volatile trading. Oil prices spent much of the day lower, gripped by fears about the weak global economic recovery, but an afternoon rally in the equities market was enough for crude futures to eke out gains.</br></br>Some market participants said it was among the most turbulent trading days in recent memory.</br></br>"It's been very brutal," said Tony Rosado, a broker at GA Global Markets in New York. "You have to have extremely deep pockets to trade this market."</br></br>Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 25 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $86.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract sank to an intraday low of $82.87 a barrel, its lowest since Nov. 26, before ending the day higher.