NEW YORK — 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. The House voted near midnight to send the bill to President Obama after a tense day of brinksmanhip. Benchmark crude for February delivery rose $1.30 to finish the first trading day of the year at $93.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was as high as $93.87 a barrel at one point in the session.

More hurdles are ahead for the US economy, including a new deadline for more spending cuts in two months. In the meantime, oil analyst Phil Flynn said, ‘‘ignorance is bliss, and this deal should propel oil to . . . near $96 a barrel.’’