SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil prices rose in Asia Friday, as investors bet on U.S. politicians reaching agreement on raising the country's debt ceiling, with the psychological level of $100 a barrel looking susceptible. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $99.63 a barrel at 0721 GMT, up $0.50 in the Globex electronic session. September Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.55 to $118.06 a barrel. Market sentiment has generally been bullish since Thursday, mainly on the back of easing worries about debt problems in the U.S. and Europe. Many investors believe the White House and Congress will reach a compromise soon to break a stalemate on raising the U.S. debt ceiling, analysts said, after President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner apparently moved closer to a deficit-reduction deal that involves both spending cuts and tax code changes. Euro-zone leaders earlier already agreed on a new EUR109 billion ($157 billion) bailout plan for Greece, designed to prevent its debt crisis from spreading. "Greater optimism on containing sovereign debt issues...offers the opportunity for prices to break out of their recent range to the upside," even though solutions being discussed likely represent only temporary relief, Barclays Capital said in a note. Oil bulls may soon push the Nymex contract above $100 a barrel, according to some analysts. The Nymex contract may reach $103 a barrel by end-July, though downside risks will come into play if an agreement to raise the debt ceiling can't be reached within a week, advisory firm Ritterbusch and Assoc. said in a note. Nymex crude will likely trade with risks skewed to the upside after hitting a six-week high of $100.16 a barrel Thursday, and buyers may next want to target $101.76 a barrel, according to a Dow Jones Newswires technical analysis. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for August--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 119 points to $3.1114 a gallon, while August heating oil traded at $3.1122, 130 points higher. ICE gasoil for August changed hands at $978.25 a metric ton, down $5.00 from Thursday's settlement. -By Max Lin, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-6415-4063; max.lin@dowjones.com

Source