TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday, hitting
three-month highs after data showed record online spending by
U.S. consumers, stoking faith in the world's no. 1 economy even
before the hoped-for end to the trade war between Washington and
Beijing.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 13 cents, or 0.2%, at
$68.05 a barrel at 0150 GMT, while the West Texas Intermediate
CLc1 contract was up 13 cents, or 0.2%, at $61.81 a barrel.
A survey on Thursday showed that online holiday purchases by
U.S. consumers reached a record, beating analysts' expectations
and sending U.S. stocks to fresh. MKTS/GLOB
U.S. consumers are "showing few signs of tightening their
purse strings, which is positive for oil also," said Stephen
Innes chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader.
Oil prices have also been buoyed by robust hopes that the
New Year will usher in an end to the long-running U.S.-China
trade tariff war, a dispute that has overshadowed global
economic growth prospects and left questionmarks over future
demand for crude.
The lingering ripple effect of the trade row showed up again
in data from Japan, the world's third-biggest economy, on Friday
showing that industrial output shrank for a second month in
November. Still, the price Brent has jumped more than a quarter in
2019, while WTI is up around 35%, boosted by moves by the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and
other producers, including Russia, to curb production. Earlier
this month OPEC and its allies agreed to extend and deepen those
cuts.