Oil prices rose above $60 a barrel for the first time in six months yesterday, boosted by signs of economic recovery, a weaker US dollar and growing investor appetite for riskier assets such as commodities.

The surge in oil prices, which have jumped 85 per cent from a five-year low of $32 a barrel in February, led a broader rise in a range of raw materials prices. Sugar rose to a three-year high; wheat reached its highest price since January and tin hit a