NYMEX October light sweet crude oil....>

US OIL CLOSE: NYMEX October light sweet crude oil futures settled up $0.59 at

$49.89 per barrel, after trading in a $49.15 to $50.50 range.

- Earlier the pair vaulted its 200-day moving average at $49.55 and took out

late July/early August peaks in the $50.22 to $50.43. West Texas Intermediate

last closed above the psychological $50 mark July 31 and the earlier WTI highs

were the highest since May.

- Only August 31, WTI posted a low of $45.58, the lowest since July 24, when the

front contract posted a low of $45.40.

- As background, WTI topped out at $52.00 May 25, before the announcement of a

nine-month extension of OPEC/non-OPEC production cuts. The extension was largely

priced in and oil fell to $42.05 on June 21.