Business news with words department+prices+sold. 5 news.

OIL prices jumped in light trading yesterday after the government reported that consumer spending surged last month, raising hopes that the US economy will weather the crisis roiling credit markets and that demand for oil and gasoline will strengthen. The Commerce Department said consumer spending jumped 1.1 percent in November, the biggest one-month gain since 2004 and well above analyst expectations for an 0.7 percent increase. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose US$2.25 to settle at US$93.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices were also supported by stocks, which rose yesterday, and a slightly weaker dollar. Energy investors often view stock market moves as reflective of overall economic sentiment. Also, oil futures offer a hedge against a weak dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the greenback is falling. Many observers blame oil's rise last month to near US$100 on speculators

Wheat prices surged above $10 a bushel for the first time Monday amid concerns that strong demand globally could result in a grain shortage in the United States next year -- worsening food price inflation. Wheat supplies in the U.S. have dwindled this year as one wheat crop after another around the world has been damaged by poor weather, most recently in Australia and Argentina. That's sent buyers scrambling for stockpiles at any cost. U.S. wheat exporters already have sold more than 90 percent of the 1.175 billion bushels the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects will be exported during the whole marketing year, which ends in June 2008. Kansas wheat producers likely won't benefit much from the spike, as most of last year's crop has already been sold, said Marsha Boswell, a spokeswoman for Kansas Wheat. "Last year during harvest, we had flooding and also freeze damage in April, so there was a lot of wheat we were not able to harvest," she said. "So there's not a lot of wheat left in the state to be sold at that price right now." However, the higher bushel price is good news for farmers looking ahead to futures pricing for next year's harvest.

STOCKS sold off yesterday after a jump in consumer inflation raised concerns about how much freedom the Federal Reserve has to continue cutting interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up more than 178 points. The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 0.8 percent in November amid a spike in gasoline prices. The report also found large increases in the cost of clothing, airline tickets and prescription drugs. The report raises questions about the Fed's options for priming the economy. The Fed this week lowered interest rates and announced a plan to align with other key central banks and offer loans to pressed lenders around the world. But while it wants to stimulate the U.S. economy and make lending easier among banks wary of faltering debt, the Fed also has to keep a watchful eye on inflation. Robert Dye, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group, said the economic readings this week painted a mixed picture for investors, spurring some of the

UNITED States retailers, offering holiday discounts of 50 percent or more this week, may see profits erode even as customers flock to stores. Wal-Mart Stores Inc will mark down toys and TVs online through this week, while Kohl's Corp, the fourth-biggest US department store, sold jewelry at 60 percent off during the first days of the holiday shopping season, which started the day after Thanksgiving, so-called Black Friday. Analysts said a lack of "must-have" products in 2007 means retailers will rely on lower prices, threatening margins in the biggest quarter of the year, Bloomberg News said. Sales in November and December may increase at the slowest pace since 2002, according to the National Retail Federation, as rising fuel and food prices discourage consumers from purchasing higher-priced gifts. The NRF said shoppers each spent an average 3.5 percent less this year during the weekend after Thanksgiving. "Black Friday draws crowds, how about profits?"

TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. Justice Department and Defense Department are investigating a number of publicly and closely held foods producers for possible improprieties in the deals they made to supply food to the troops in Iraq, The Wall Street Journal reported. People involved in the inquiry told the paper that ConAgra, Perdue Farms, Sara Lee and other companies are involved in the review. The inquiry is looking at whether the foods companies set excessively high prices when they sold their goods to the Army's main food contractor for the war zone, Public Warehousing Co. of Kuwait, the Journal reported. A related question under review is whether Public Warehousing, which delivered the food to the troops, improperly took refunds it received from these suppliers, the Journal reported.