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Oil settles above $61 a barrel after London attacks
New York: Oil prices swung sharply upward on Friday as traders shrugged off the shock of the London bomb blasts and focused on a drop in United States crude stocks and possible supply disruptions because of Hurricane Dennis.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery was up 84 cents at $61,57 a barrel by midday on Friday in Europe. Unleaded gasoline jumped nearly four US cents to $1,8450 a gallon (3,8 litres), while heating oil was up more than a penny at $1,7885.

Brent futures were at $60.21 a barrel on London's International Petroleum Exchange, up 93 US cents.

Prices had dropped nearly $5 on Thursday after blasts in London's subway and a double-decker bus killed at least 50 people and left 700 injured. Oil dropped from above $62 to near $57 a barrel, in what Vienna's PVM Oil Associates said was the largest price swing since the 1991 Gulf War. The swing occurred on concern that the economy would be hurt by a decline in tourism.

But prices recovered to close at $60.73, down 55 cents.
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G-8 leaders announce $50bn global aid
Gleneagles, Scotland: World leaders wrapping up an economic summit shaken by terrorism announced a $50 billion boost in development aid on Friday, declaring the deal was a message of hope that countered the hatred behind the London bomb attacks.

"We speak today in the shadow of terrorism but it will not obscure what we came here to achieve," British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared, flanked by fellow leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) rich states and seven of their African counterparts.

Blair, who skipped much of Thursday's session to handle the aftermath of the bombs in London that killed more than 50 people, did not give a timetable for reaching the aid target.

Campaigners said they understood the deal was to double overall aid to some $100 billion by 2010, with about half of that destined for Africa. They had pressed for the boost immediately; saying a delay would cost millions of lives.

The G8 leaders also agreed a package of aid worth up to $3 billion to help the Palestinian Authority and foster peace in the Middle East, Tony Blair said.

They agreed to start a dialogue on Nov. 1 with the major emerging economies on how to slow down and later reverse the rise in greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Environmental groups have criticised their accord as too vague to pose a serious challenge to climate change.

The leaders pledged to end farm export aid but set no deadline. They also called for renewed efforts to conclude a new phase of world trade liberalisation by the end of next year.
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