NEW YORK (AP) — Oil is above $98 per barrel on the heels of a better-than-expected U.S. retail sales report and a broad rally on Wall Street.
The government reported Tuesday that retail sales slipped 0.2 percent last month, the first decline in nearly a year, as Americans bought fewer cars. The report still beat analysts' expectations. Meanwhile, prices at the wholesale level rose at the slowest pace in 10 months, according to separate report from the Labor Department. Stocks and oil rallied after the reports came out.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate gained 82 cents at $98.12 per barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude added $1.52 at $119.94 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
