Oil Prices Near 18-Month Highs

New York, NY, April 6, 2010--Oil prices remained near 18-month highs above $86 a barrel Tuesday in Asia.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was down 20 cents to $86.42 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.75 to settle at $86.62 on Monday, the highest since October 2008.

Oil has jumped 24 percent since early February.