OIL FUTURES: Crude Edges Higher In Asia; US Data Lend Support

By Ga-Woon Philip Vahn  Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures edged higher in Asia Friday, as positive U.S. economic data boosted risk sentiment, but gains were limited as investors refrained from making aggressive bets on the last trading session in 2011.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at $99.83 a barrel at 0644 GMT, up $0.18 in the Globex electronic session. February Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.17 to $108.18 a barrel.

Gains in most Asian stock markets set the tone for some buyers after data showed Thursday a modest improvement in U.S. housing and employment sectors.

The latest U.S. employment data point "tops off a solid quarter of U.S. economic performance and leans toward a more bullish 2012," said Joel Murphy, a sales trader at GO Markets.

Market participants said crude will likely trade in a limited range in the near term, as investors are reluctant to commit new funds to risk assets amid growing expectations that Europe's debt problems will continue to hurt global economic growth and, hence, oil demand in 2012.

"It has been a quite a volatile year for crude, with so many macroeconomic surprises and numerous political events" in the Middle East and North Africa, said a sales manager at S-Oil Corp. in an email. "One thing for certain is that Europe's debt crisis will remain a key focus next year because the problems there are deep-rooted."

Energy consulting firm Ritterbusch and Associates said Nymex futures could retreat to the mid-$90 area, as it expects the euro zone to be the primary driver of oil pricing during the first quarter of 2012.

"We still view the euro-zone debt issues as intractable despite this week's Italian bond auctions that were widely perceived as better than expected. Nonetheless, a breakdown in the euro to 15-month lows is an element that can't be denied when assessing oil price direction across the month of January," Ritterbusch said in a note.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for January--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 5 points to $2.6796 a gallon, while ICE gasoil for January changed hands at $927.25 a metric ton, up $5.75 from Thursday's settlement.

-By Ga-Woon Philip Vahn, Dow Jones Newswires; +65-64154149; philip.vahn@dowjones.com

via online.wsj.com