Oil rises to $53pb as US pours cash

Oil prices have climbed up to $53 a barrel, amid the US government's continuing cash injections into the country's ailing economy.

On Monday, US light crude for May delivery reached $52.72 65 cents a barrel, showing a 65 cent increase. London Brent crude also rose 68 cents, hitting $51.90. 

The price rise came as the US announced plans to use up to $1 trillion in taxpayer money to clear banks of their 'toxic assets'. 

The plan involves luring private investors into buying troubled assets with offers of between $75 billion to $100 billion. 

White House officials say the initiative will jump-start the economy, initiating a recovery process that will take till 2010 to complete. 

The US dollar also helped raise oil prices. Last week, the greenback recorded its biggest weekly slide in the past 24 years, as the Federal Reserve's plan to buy long-term government debt raised fear about the fall of the US currency. 

On Sunday, President Barack Obama claimed the dollar is still strong but warned that too much borrowing could weaken demand for the currency. 

Although the US Federal Reserve describes itself as a 'system' with a mandate from Congress, it is owned by 12 regional Reserves whose stakeholders are private banks, which, by law, pick up a risk-free 6% return on their holdings every year, even if they can not sell or trade their stocks.