SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil prices rose in early Asian trading, as global financial concerns eased after President Barack Obama said that lawmakers reached an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $96.98 a barrel at 0248 GMT, up $1.28 in the Globex electronic session. September Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $1.42 to $118.16 a barrel. Global investors were relieved by Obama's announcement that Congress leaders have reached an agreement to allow the U.S. government to borrow more money and reduce its deficit, although the plan will still have to win support of House Republicans and clear the U.S. Senate. The resolution of the debt impasse was boosting financial markets across the board, although the crude market's reaction was relatively subdued compared with stock markets. A surge in the dollar after the prospect of a default by the world's largest economy also eroded some gains in dollar-denominated commodities. Some analysts also warned that crude may quickly lose its upwards momentum as traders will soon shift their focus back to still-weak U.S. economic fundamentals. Nymex will likely stay within its recent range between $95 and $102 a barrel, as many players had expected a debt deal and factored this into prices, said Tokyo-based Newedge Japan commodity and derivatives sales manager Ken Hasegawa. U.S. economic growth remains sluggish, indicating slowing demand in the world's top oil consumer. The Commerce Department last week said gross domestic product grew at a weaker-than-expected rate of 1.3% in the April-June period, while revising the first-quarter growth sharply down to 0.4% from its earlier estimate of 1.9%. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for September--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 461 points to $3.1040 a gallon, while September heating oil traded at $3.1369, 375 points higher. ICE gasoil for August changed hands at $980.75 a metric ton, up $9.75 from Friday's settlement. -By Max Lin, Dow Jones Newswires; 65-6415-4063; max.lin@dowjones.com

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