Briefcase

Factory orders up in January, helped by demand for airplanes

Businesses ordered more manufactured goods from U.S. factories in January, but excluding a big surge in demand for airplanes, the rise in demand was the smallest in three months.

Excluding the volatile transportation category, orders rose 0.7 percent in January, the weakest showing since October, the Commerce Department reported Friday. And a key category that serves as a proxy for business investment plans fell by the largest amount in two years.

Helped by the surge in demand for commercial aircraft, total business orders rose 3.1 percent in January, the biggest gain in more than four years.

Associated Press

Oil prices reach highest level since September 2008

NEW YORK – Oil prices rose past $104 a barrel to end the week at a 29-month high, as fighting in Libya intensified and the world’s largest petroleum consumer, the U.S., reported that employers added nearly 200,000 new jobs in February.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery gained $2.51 to settle at $104.42 per barrel in New York, the highest level since Sept. 26, 2008.

Gasoline prices have shot up an average of 35 cents per gallon since an uprising in Libya began in mid-February. A gallon of regular gained another 4.4 cents to a new national average of $3.471 per gallon on Friday, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service.

Associated Press