Oil price approaches $80

Oil prices are again flirting with $80 a barrel after a two-week rally fuelled by promising economic reports and worries that troubles in Europe and the Middle East could eventually tighten supplies.

Benchmark crude for March delivery added 75 cents to settle at $79.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price of the March contract, which ends Monday, has increased by 12 percent since Feb. 5.

Most of the trading already has moved to the April contract, which added 64 cents Friday to settle at $80.06 a barrel.

The rally in crude comes even though the U.S. is still flush with very large supplies. Reports of growth in home construction, industrial production and manufacturing have boosted confidence among investors that Americans will regain their appetite for fossil fuels in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, investors continued to focus on problems with refineries in France, where workers at a refinery for oil giant Total have been striking since Jan. 12. The US imports gasoline and other fuels from Europe, and concerns over disruptions in European refining have helped push energy prices higher.