Oil prices rose to near USD 100 a barrel on Wednesday in Asia as a report showed U.S. crude and gasoline supplies unexpectedly dropped last week, suggesting demand may be improving.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 27 cents at USD 99.90 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose USD 2.66 to settle at USD 99.63 on Tuesday.
In London, Brent crude for April delivery was down 9 cents to USD 115.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil rose 0.7 cents to USD 3.03 a gallon, and gasoline gained 1.4 cents to USD 3.00 a gallon. Natural gas futures were down 0.1 cent at USD 3.86 per 1,000 cubic feet.
