SINGAPORE: Oil prices hovered above $87 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid signs of improving consumer demand in the US Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 22 cents to $87.49 at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose $1.90 to settle at $87.27 on Monday. In London, Brent crude for October delivery was up 42 cents to $112.30 on the ICE Futures exchange. Crude has jumped 16 per cent from near $76 three weeks ago amid growing investor optimism the US economy may not slip into recession in the second half. On Monday, the Commerce Department said consumer spending, which accounts for 70 per cent of the nation's economic activity, increased in July by the biggest amount in five months. A rally in global stock markets also helped boost crude prices. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.2 per cent Monday and most Asia stock markets gained Tuesday. Some analysts are expect crude to head lower as slowing global economic growth pinches oil demand. ``We still look for weak global demand to win out over the longer term eventually forcing the oil market into fresh low territory,'' energy consultant Ritterbusch and Associates said in a report. In other Nymex trading for October contracts, heating oil rose 0.8 cent to $3.03 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 0.6 cent to $2.78 per gallon. Natural gas for September delivery slid 1.5 cents to $3.82 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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