The price of oil jumped Wednesday on the first trading day of the new year, after a deal in Washington averted the dreaded ''fiscal cliff''.

Benchmark crude for February delivery rose USD 1.30 to finish the first trading day of the year at USD 93.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price various kinds of international oil, rose USD 1.36 to end at USD 112.47 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to finish at USD 2.80 a gallon, heating oil added a penny to end at USD 3.05 a gallon, natural gas fell 12 cents to finish at USD 3.23 per 1,000 cubic feet.