economy To faster change

Oil prices rose to near $87 a barrel Wednesday amid a strong rebound in equity markets, a weaker dollar and hopes that President Barack Obama will announce new economic support measures in a major policy speech later this week.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for October delivery was up 72 cents to $86.74 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude fell 43 cents to settle at $86.02 on Tuesday.

In London, Brent crude for October delivery was up 10 cents at $112.99 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Crude has traded between $80 and $90 for the last month — down from near $115 in May — as investors worry a sluggish U.S. economy and high unemployment rate will stymie consumer demand. Obama is scheduled Thursday to announce new government measures to create jobs and spur economic growth.

Europe's debt crisis has also weighed on oil prices and equities this week but stock markets in Asia and Europe were up significantly on Wednesday, rising at least 2 percent in several locations.

"Investors have clearly become more concerned that the global economy may be sliding back to recession," Citigroup said in a report. "We don't believe this will turn into a rerun of 2007-2008."

A weaker dollar helped boost oil prices by making crude cheaper for investors holding other currencies.