Oil prices rise above $95 a barrel

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil climbed above $95 per barrel today as lawmakers in Greece approved final details of a plan that will bring sweeping financial reform to its beleaguered economy.

The austerity measures passed this week clear the way for Greece to receive crucial bailout funds. This should ease investor concerns, for now, about a spreading financial crisis in Europe.

As a result, the euro strengthened against the dollar, giving oil a boost. Oil is priced in U.S. currency, and it tends to rise as the dollar falls and makes crude barrels cheaper for investors holding foreign money.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery added 87 cents to $95.65 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising $4.16 per barrel over the previous two days. Even so, oil is on pace to end the second quarter with its first quarterly drop in a year.

Meanwhile, retail gasoline prices slipped less than a penny overnight to $3.541 per gallon. They actually dropped about 2 percent for the quarter, but consumers had to endure a run up to near $4 in early May.