Oil prices rose on Tuesday on cold US weather and expectations weekly data would show another fall in US inventories. US crude for February delivery rose 10 cents to settle at $78.87 a barrel. In London, Brent crude for February traded up 32 cents to settle at $77.64 a barrel. US heating oil futures led the oil complex higher, as cold weather hit the US Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market. Temperatures were expected to average below normal in the region through Friday. “Cold weather and expectations for additional draws in crude and distillate stocks supported, while the stronger dollar and weak gasoline demand acted as a drag,” said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc in New York. An updated Reuters poll of analysts forecast weekly data will show US crude inventories fell by 2 million barrels last week as refiners continued to draw down stocks for year-end tax reasons. Distillate stocks, including heating oil, were seen down by 2.2 million barrels on cold weather. Weekly US inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute was due at 4:30 p.m. EST Tuesday, while data from the US Energy Information Administration will be released on Wednesday. Weekly US gasoline demand data from MasterCard SpendingPulse showed consumption down 3.3 percent in the week to Dec. 25, compared with previous week, but up 1.3 percent against the previous year.
