By Arpan Mukherjee Crude-oil futures edged higher in Asia Thursday on improved sentiment following China manufacturing data that beat expectations and better-than-expected U.S. data overnight. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September traded at $105.53 a barrel at 0652 GMT, up $0.50 in the Globex electronic session. September Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.12 to $107.82 a barrel. China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.3 in July compared with a median forecast of 49.8 by 11 economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires. However, the official data contrasted with a privately compiled report released Thursday that excludes state-owned enterprises and is watched as a pulse on the health of small-to-medium sized companies. The HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a final reading of 47.7 in July from 48.2 in June. Analysts said crude-oil prices were also helped by a softer U.S. dollar after the Federal Reserve kept its monetary policy steady at its latest meeting and stronger-than-expected second-quarter U.S. gross domestic product data. The stimulus program, designed to give the U.S. economy a boost, has helped crude prices by eroding the value of the dollar, leading investors to seek out riskier investments such as oil. "Surprisingly strong" U.S. GDP growth and "favorable" Chinese manufacturing PMI data "may inject further upside in oil prices in the short-term," OCBC Bank said in a report. Meanwhile, the premium between Brent and Nymex crude prices hovered around the $2-$3 range. The spread is likely to remain at current levels, said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. "Historically, the general range of the spread has been between parity and a 5% premium," Mr. Spooner said, adding that the market has moved back into that range. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for September--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 89 points to $2.9874 a gallon, while September heating oil traded at $3.0563, 13 points higher. ICE gasoil for August changed hands at $916.50 a metric ton, up $6.00 from Wednesday's settlement.

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