Oil price rises despite Europe jobless data

Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 10 cents to US$93.25 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 4 cents to finish at US$93.15 a barrel in New York.

Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, was up 15 cents to US$112.09 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Demand for aluminum has been hurt by the weak global economy, but Alcoa predicted a 7-percent increase in demand this year, slightly better than the 6-percent increase in 2012. The company's fourth-quarter earnings were in line with forecasts while revenue exceeded Wall Street expectations.

But on the negative side, unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro rose to 11.8 percent in November from 11.7 percent in October, the highest jobless rate since the euro was founded in 1999.

“The outlook for global commodities is likely to remain uncertain in the next twelve months with low growth hampering demand especially in Europe,” Michael Hewson of CMC Markets said in an email commentary.

Oil traders will be monitoring fresh information this week on U.S. supplies of crude and refined products.

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