Oil prices make historic gain

0 Comments | USA TODAY, September, 2008 | by James R. Healey

The price of oil, below $100 for much of last week, rocketed to its biggest one-day dollar gain in history on Monday as speculators had to buy at any price to deliver on contracts expiring that day.

"A short-term panic," says Joe Marshall, energy trader at McNamara Options. "I've never seen a move like this in one day."

Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery closed the Nymex trading day Monday at $120.92 per barrel, a leap of $16.37 a barrel from Friday's close.

The run-up smacked against Nymex's $10 limit, halting electronic trading for five minutes in the afternoon before the limit automatically reset to $20. There was no interruption in "open-outcry" trading at the Nymex, says spokeswoman Brenda Guzman.

"Traders (in recent days)...