Oil prices surged back above $80 a barrel in Asian trade Friday on news the United States has emerged from a long and painful recession after posting its strongest growth in two years.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, was trading at $80.08 in morning trade, up 21 cents from the previous day.

Brent North Sea crude for December was up 10 cents to $78.14.

After four consecutive contractions, the world's largest economy grew at a seasonally adjusted 3.5 percent in the September quarter from the previous three months, the Commerce Department said.

The rise was the biggest since the 2007 third quarter, when the subprime mortgage market sparked a global financial crisis that spilled over into the world economy.

"The good news is that the 3.5 percent annualised rebound in the third quarter GDP (gross domestic product) confirms the most severe and longest recession since the 1930s is over," consultancy Capital Economics said.

"We expect economic growth to continue at about the same pace for the next few quarters as pent-up investment demand is released, inventories are restocked and the boost from the fiscal stimulus continues."

The United States is the world's biggest energy consumer and the health of its economy and the consumption patterns of Americans are key influences in the oil market.

Crude prices tumbled from peaks of more than $147 a barrel in July 2008 to around $30 in December on falling demand due to the recession that followed the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers.

"The US economy is moving higher than expected, and interestingly we are seeing decent consumer activity," said Bart Melek, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

Melek said government stimulus measures had succeeded and "oil demand should pick up as well."