Oil prices rose Thursday in Asia above US$116 a barrel as investors mulled a fall in U.S. gasoline inventories and a possible output tightening by OPEC at its next meeting in September, AP reported. Light, sweet crude for October delivery was up 83 cents at US$116.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract rose US$1.01 overnight to settle at US$115.56 a barrel. The September contract expired Wednesday after rising 45 cents to US$114.98 a barrel. The price gains came despite a huge rise in U.S. crude inventories. But not all U.S. fuel supplies were abundant.
