BANGKOK ? Oil prices rose above $99 a barrel Monday in Asia, taking a cue from gains in stock markets after a strong start to the U.S. holiday shopping season.
Benchmark crude for January delivery was up $2.49 to $99.30 a barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 60 cents to settle at $96.77 on Friday.
In London, Brent crude was up $2.13 at $107.99 on the ICE futures exchange.
Oil took its cue from Asian and European stocks, which were mostly higher Monday after record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day U.S. holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day. That was up from 212 million last year, according to early estimates by The National Retail Federation.
Reports that France and Germany might circumvent European bureaucracy to get nations using the euro common currency to comply with strict rules for budget discipline also boosted sentiment.
Crude has fallen from above $103 more than a week ago amid investor concern that Europe's debt crisis will undermine global economic growth and oil demand.
In other Nymex trading, natural gas was up 0.3 cent at $3.545 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil added 4.8 cents to $2.99 a gallon and gasoline rose 6.6 cents to $2.52 a gallon.
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