Crude oil rose after a report showed the US economy grew at a 5.9 per cent annual rate in the fourth quarter, signaling that fuel demand may climb in the world's biggest energy-consuming country.
Oil increased 1.9 per cent after the Commerce Department said gross domestic product gained by the most in six years. The growth rate was higher than the government reported last month. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said this week that the US economy is in a "nascent" recovery.
"The positive GDP number is putting upward pressure on prices," said Peter Beutel, president of trading adviser Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. "We are going to be focused on anything that gives an indication of where the economy is going."
Crude oil for April delivery rose $US1.49 to settle at $US79.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April contract declined 0.5 per cent this week. Prices advanced 9.3 per cent this month, the biggest gain since May.
