A buying spree on the last trading day for September contracts helped push crude-oil prices sharply higher Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, leaving traders in an optimistic mood for October trading, which begins Monday.

Oil also gained on other world markets, while crude's Merc rally boosted both unleaded gasoline and home-heating oil."Today's activity was more short-covering and other technical factors in the absence of any significant news," said Jerry Samuels, managing director of ARB Oil Inc. of New York.

"In the morning, it seemed like we would resume the selling pressure (from the previous day)," he said. "But then we had a decent rally on the last trading day" before Monday, when October becomes the spot trading month.

On the Merc, light sweet crude for September delivery jumped 44 cents to $18.09 a barrel, while the October crude contract gained 14 cents to $18.29 a barrel.

Unleaded gasoline for September delivery also added 0.51 cent to 54. 03 cents a gallon, while home-heating oil edged up 0.37 cent to 52.74 cents a gallon.

Natural gas, whose prices have risen steadily in the past several days, also gained 7 cents to $2.46 per 1,000 cubic feet.

For the week, crude rose 23 cents from Monday's $17.86 close, but gasoline ended the week sharply lower.

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