Crude oil gained for a fifth day in London as rising inflation made investors favor commodities over other asset classes and snowstorms returned to parts of Europe. Oil posted its longest rising streak in six weeks as heavy snow struck northern France, raising expectations fuel demand will increase. Crude also traded near the highest in two years after confidence among U.S. consumers rose. “Energy demand in China, India is growing, but the biggest mover for energy markets is financial investors,” said Juerg Kiener, chief investment officer at fund manager Swiss Asia Capital Ltd. in Singapore. “Investors whose bonds are maturing are thinking what to buy next. This money will flow into commodities.” Brent crude oil for February settlement rose as much as 49 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $94.74 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, and was at $94.59 at 2:27 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday it increased 60 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $94.25 a barrel to settle at the highest level since Oct. 1, 2008. Prices have gained 3.2 percent this week. West Texas Intermediate oil for February delivery advanced $1.03 to $91.51 a barrel yesterday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Oct. 3, 2008. Prices are up 15 percent this year. Electronic and floor trading is closed today ahead of the Christmas holiday. China’s inflation reached a 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November, according to the statistics bureau earlier this month. Bonds in the country were the worst performers in Asia for the second time in four years. Crude Survey Futures may rise next week, a Bloomberg News survey of 30 analysts and traders showed. Sixteen respondents, or 53 percent, forecast crude will rise through Dec. 31. Last week, 53 percent said the market would drop. Oil rose yesterday after confidence among U.S. consumers advanced, spurring optimism that fuel demand will increase. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment for December climbed to 74.5 from 71.6 in November. Market conditions will determine whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decides to increase production quotas next year, Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp. told reporters in Cairo, without specifying a timeframe. Libya’s top oil official is in the Egyptian capital to attend a Dec. 25 meeting of OPEC’s seven Arab-country members. Oil prices will reach $100 a barrel, Ghanem said. OPEC, which accounts for 40 percent of global oil supply, decided at its last meeting in Quito, Ecuador, on Dec. 11 to maintain its production target of 24.845 million barrels a day, set in 2008. OPEC’s next meeting is scheduled for June 2011. To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell at crussell7@bloomberg.net

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