Crude Oil Climbs Near $91 Ahead of Bush Economic Stimulus Speech

Crude oil rose on Friday ahead of President's George W. Bush's economic stimulus package speech at the White House.

The President will speak at 11:50 a.m. EST as markets await to hear his plan for averting an economic recession.

Recovering from this week losses, crude oil climbed above $90 as stocks in Europe rose. More traders invested in crude as the U.S. stocks opened firmer.

U.S. crude for February delivery rose 40 cents or 0.44 percent percent to $90.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:08 a.m. Brent Crude for March rose 71 cents or 0.80 percent to $89.68 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Exchange.

On Friday European stock markets were mostly higher. Early afternoon trading London's FTSE-100 index was up 114.9 points to 6,017.3. The CAC-40 index in Paris and Frankfurt's DAX were also higher.

Yesterday the Commerce Department said U.S. housing construction projects in December reached their lowest levels since 1992. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke also said interest rate cuts may be needed to hedge what he observed as a worsening economic outlook. Bernanke said the Fed does not forecast a recession in the U.S.