By Sarah Kent Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Crude futures were higher Monday, tracking movements in the euro as investor focus remained firmly on developments in the debate surrounding the region's debt crisis ahead of a crucial meeting Wednesday. At 0956 GMT, the front-month December Brent contract on London's ICE futures exchange was 74 cents, or 0.7%, higher at $110.30 a barrel. The front-month December contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading up 50 cents, or 0.6%, at $87.90 per barrel. Prices moved higher amid optimism euro-zone leaders were getting closer to agreement on how to handle the region's debt crisis following a weekend meeting. "The market isn't following anything specific at the moment, said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities trading at Commerzbank. "I think it's more the overall better sentiment on the market, which is helping the over all risk sentiment," he added. The euro zone is likely to remain in focus, at least for the first half of the week, as investors look ahead to a second meeting Wednesday at which the region's leaders are expected to announce concrete measures to handle the area's debt crisis. Analysts said major price moves ahead of Wednesday's summit were unlikely, although prices could well continue to trend upwards so long as the present optimism holds. "We expect the markets to work higher perhaps through to Wednesday, but we think that most of this "expectation rally" will likely be fully priced in after that," said MF Global in a note. For the rest of the week, the broader economic picture is likely to take centre stage, which may help prevent prices from rising much higher, it adds. The week is data heavy in the U.S., with negative readings from the world's largest oil consumer likely to weigh on prices. Some indication of what poor data might do to prices was given by a dismal set of manufacturing data from the euro-zone Monday, which hit the euro hard and caused oil prices to wobble. The euro zone's preliminary purchasing managers index published by Markit Monday showed the composite PMI for the euro zone fell to 47.2 in October, the lowest level since July 2009. "We were up a lot more earlier today but it [crude] has fallen back by almost a dollar per barrel as it seems to be hooked up to interpretations around euro," said Torbjorn Kjus, oil market analyst at DnB NOR. Oil prices tend to fall when the greenback strengthens, as the dollar-denominated commodity becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies. At 0956 GMT, the euro was at $1.38610, down from $1.3899 in New York Friday. The ICE's gasoil contract for November delivery was down $6.00, or 0.6%, at $949.50 per metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for November delivery was 124 points, or 0.5%, higher at $2.6970 per gallon. -By Sarah Kent, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420-7842-9376; sarah.kent@dowjones.com

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