US oil rises on hopes for fiscal deal

The U.S. crude price rose on Monday on hopes that a deal could be reached in time to avoid the U.S. "fiscal cliff." Investors were optimistic about the prospects of a fiscal deal between the White House and the Congress, as President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner resumed talks on Monday. Boehner made a substantial shift over the weekend by offering to raise tax rates on the wealthiest Americans who are making more than 1 million dollars a year. Although President Obama did not accept the proposal, the big change in the Republicans' attitude raised hopes among the investors and pushed U.S. oil and equities higher. Besides, there was news that Enterprise Products Partners and its partner Enbridge would complete a 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) expansion to the 150,000-bpd Oklahoma to Texas Seaway pipeline in early January. With the expansion, the crude oil stocks pressure at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for the U.S. oil futures contract would be eased, a positive factor for the U.S. oil price. Meanwhile, the markets were expecting more economic boosting policies from Japan's new government after elections in the Asian country. But on the economic front, manufacturing activity in the New York region continued to decline at a modest pace in December for the fifth consecutive month, according to a report released on Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Light, sweet crude for January delivery added 47 cents, or 0.54 percent, to settle at 87.20 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But Brent crude for February delivery edged down 54 cents, or 0. 50 percent, to close at 107.64 dollars a barrel.