By Grant Smith and Alexander Kwiatkowski Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the first time in four days on speculation that improving U.S. corporate earnings and economic confidence worldwide will spur fuel demand. Crude traded above $80 a barrel, shrugging off gains in U.S. crude and fuel supplies, as equity markets and confidence in the economy rose around the world. Global oil demand will increase by 1.7 million barrels per day next year, according to the Energy Department. “We’re seeing the recovery,” said Tobias Merath, head of commodities research at Credit Suisse Group AG in Zurich. “Demand is still weak, inventories are still high, but they’re off the peak and starting to tighten. Sentiment is such that dips below $80 are seen as buying opportunities.” Crude oil for February delivery rose as much as 71 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $80.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $80.11 a barrel at 10:20 a.m. London time. Prices rose with equities, as Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index climbed 0.7 percent to 258.63 at 10:10 a.m. in London. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.9 percent, and futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.8 percent before a report forecast to show U.S. retail sales increased for a third month. “Stronger earnings reports from banks and other major manufacturers would be supportive for oil,” said Victor Shum, a senior principal at consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. “There’s no question that financials continue to be the main driver of oil pricing.” Bloomberg Confidence Index The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index gained to 66.6 this month from 58.9 in December, reaching the highest level since the series began two years ago. The index exceeded 50 for a sixth month, which means there were more optimists than pessimists. Oil dropped a third day yesterday, settling below $80 a barrel for the first time this year, after a U.S. government report showed the country’s crude and product inventories increased last week. “The last few weeks of draw-downs had people optimistic that we were going to start to see this big supply overhang worked off, but it doesn’t seem to be the case,” said Ben Westmore, a minerals and energy economist at National Australia Bank Ltd. in Melbourne. Distillate fuel stockpiles rose for the first week in five, the Energy Department’s report showed. Supplies including heating oil and diesel increased 1.35 million barrels to 160.4 million. Crude Stockpiles Commercially held crude oil stockpiles rose a second week to 331 million barrels even as refineries processed more, while gasoline inventories climbed to 223.5 million barrels, the highest since March 2008. The International Energy Agency will publish its oil demand and supply forecasts for this year in its monthly market report tomorrow at 9 a.m. in London. Brent crude oil for February settlement rose as much as 67 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $78.98 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $78.74 a barrel at 10:19 a.m. local time. The contract expires at today’s settlement. The more actively traded March future gained 33 cents to $79.15 a barrel. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will make proposals today on hard limits on the number of futures a single investor can hold. The so-called position limits may apply to energy futures on regulated exchanges such as the oil and natural gas contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. -- With assistance from Yee Kai Pin in Singapore and Ben Sharples in Melbourne. Editors: Rob Verdonck, Mike Anderson.

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