Oil Ends Year to the Upside

Oil futures jumped past $61 Friday on the last trading day of the year as the markets focused on plunging supplies and the apparently imminent execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Light, sweet crude climbed by 52 cents to settle at $61.05 a barrel in New York. The Nymex closed early in advance of a four-day holiday weekend that includes New Year's Day and a funeral service for former U.S. President Gerald Ford on Tuesday.

This week, volume has been light because many traders are either on vacation or don't want to make bets on the direction of oil prices before the end of the year. ...