Awwal 12, 1432 H/Feb 15, 2011, SPA -- Oil prices rose Tuesday on news that China's inflation rate rose less than expected and traders kept an eye on unrest in the Middle East. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose 21 cents to $85.03 a barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a day after settling at a 12-week low. In London, Brent crude fell 8 cents to $103 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange, according to AP. China's inflation rate was 4.9 percent in January, largely due to a double-digit increase in food prices. It was less than the 5.4 percent rate that analysts expected but higher than the 4.6 percent rate in December. The Chinese government has raised interest rates three times since November in an effort to curb inflation and slow economic growth. The January inflation rate seemed to ease some energy traders' worries that China would do even more to slow the economy, Cameron Hanover energy consultancy said in a research note. China is the world's second-largest energy consumer behind the U.S., and a slowdown in China's demand for oil could affect prices.
