Washington  - The price of crude oil climbed by 25 dollars per barrel on Monday, the largest jump ever over worries of a weakened dollar prompted by US government plans to buy failing mortgages from the troubled finance industry, Bloomberg news reported.

The Bush administration is proposing a massive 700-billion to 800- billion-dollar plan to bailout the finance industry, which has been at the heart of the flailing US economy. The buyout has increased concerns about the federal government's growing budget deficit.

The financial woes on Wall Street has boosted the appeal of commodities like oil.

"Gold, silver, oil, copper, just about any hard asset, is looking good at this point," Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at MF Global Ltd in New York, told Bloomberg. "With the dollar down and stocks getting hit, commodities look like a safe play."

The price of oil for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped by 25 dollars to 130 dollars a barrel, before settling at 120.92 dollars, or a 16.37-dollar increase for the day's trading. (dpa)