Created: 10/19/2009 6:58:15 AM 
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices jumped above $79 a barrel today, a 2009 high.
Investors looked to the corporate earnings of big U.S. retailers this week for signs the consumer may be regaining confidence.
Last week, crude broke out of a five-month trading range between $65 and $75 a barrel on a weakening U.S. dollar and expectations that oil demand will eventually recover as the global economy grows next year.
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