By Virginia Harrison, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures rose in electronic trading Monday, amid hopes for progress in resolving Europe’s debt crisis ahead of key meetings later in the week.
New York Mercantile Exchange crude-oil futures for January delivery CL2F +0.48% added 36 cents, or 0.4%, to $101.32 a barrel in electronic trading during Asian trading hours.
The gains extend the positive finish for crude on Friday, notching a weekly rise of 4.3%, as investors took to the sidelines ahead of crucial euro zone debt-talks due this week. Read more on Friday's oil moves.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet in Paris on Monday to discuss their joint proposals, and European Union leaders will gather for a summit on Dec. 9.
Italy’s government approved a tough austerity plan late Sunday, designed to shore up the nation’s fiscal position ahead of the meetings.
“Brinksmanship between the European policy makers continues as does the pressure on many European governments to deliver fiscal and economic reform,” strategists at Barclays Capital said.
Optimism that some progress was being made toward resolving the euro zone’s debt problems helped buoy sentiment across most risk assets in Asian trading on Monday. Read more on Asia markets.
“Debt fears on both sides of the Atlantic [are] key in [any] mounting loss of faith in economic, and hence demand, prospects,” Barclays Capital strategists added.
Virginia Harrison is a MarketWatch reporter based in Sydney.
