By Claudia Assis and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose Tuesday as investors embraced figures on U.S. retail sales and as data on economic growth in Germany and France came in slightly better than forecast. Crude for September delivery CLU2 +0.50% lately advanced 77 cents, or 0.9%, to $93.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September crude fell 0.2% on Monday, amid low volumes and losses for U.S. equities. Geopolitical tensions and ensuing supply worries had driven oil up for most of the session, however, with traders mulling news reports that hinted to a possible escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran. U.S. stocks opened modeslty higher on Tuesday, and sentiment got a boosted earlier as gross domestic product for both Germany and France — the largest European economies — was slightly better than expected. These reports also lifted European stock markets. Read: Germany can’t stave off euro-zone recession Also Tuesday, the Commerce Department reported a 0.8% increase in retail sales for July — the biggest gain in sales since February and an increase that beat analyst expectations. Retail sales jump in July. U.S. wholesale prices also rose in July, up 0.3% on higher food costs, the Labor Department said. The increase in wholesale-level inflation was slightly above forecast. See more about wholesale prices. Among other energy futures, natural gas for September delivery NGU2 +1.43% rose 5 cents, or 1.9%, to $2.78 per British thermal units. September heating oil HOU2 +0.42% gained 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $3.04 a gallon. However, September gasoline RBU2 +0.03% bucked the trend, easing less than 1 cent, or 0.1%, to $2.99 a gallon. Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch. Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.

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