Oil prices rose slightly Tuesday amid expectations a midweek U.S. government report will show crude stockpiles fell for a fifth straight week. Wednesday's report by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration for the week ended Dec. 14 will show U.S. crude supplies fell 1.3 million barrels, according to the averaged forecasts of nine analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 10 cents to US$90.73 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. In London, Brent crude futures added 14 cents to US$91.43 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. While oil prices rose slightly last week, they remain nearly US$10 a barrel below November's record highs. Heating oil futures added 0.15 cent to US$2.5994 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline prices fell 0.04 cent to US$2.335 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 2 cents to US$7.055 per 1,000 cubic feet.
