The price of oil rose more than one per cent Monday on encouraging manufacturing data from the U.S. and China.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery advanced $1.10, or 1.2 per cent, to US$93.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, jumped $1.76 to US$111.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
U.S. manufacturing grew in November at the fastest pace in 2 1/2 years as factories ramped up production, stepped up hiring and received orders at a healthy clip.
Meanwhile, a survey showed that Chinese manufacturing expanded slightly last month — evidence that growth in the world's No. 2 economy was continuing, albeit at a modest pace.
China's leaders are counting on a continuing recovery to avoid the need for further stimulus. China's economic growth rose to 7.8 per cent in the third quarter after slumping to a two-decade low of 7.5 per cent in the previous three months.
In the U.S., manufacturing activity has now expanded for six straight months after hitting a rough patch in the spring. The steady gains suggest that growth is remaining solid in the current October-December quarter.
Traders are also looking ahead as delegates from some of the world's key oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria, meet Wednesday at OPEC headquarters in Vienna.
An estimate from analysts at JBC Energy in Vienna showed OPEC's crude output fell to 29.44 million barrels a day in November, the lowest since May 2011 and the third straight month with output below 30 million.
Most of the difference was attributed to production and export snags in Libya, where political volatility and the effects of the 2011 civil war continue to affect the oil industry.
In other energy futures trading on Nymex, wholesale gasoline gained two cents to US$2.68 a U.S. gallon (3.79 litres), heating oil rose two cents to US$3.05 a gallon and natural gas rose three cents to $3.99 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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