(RTTNews) - U.S. crude oil futures on Tuesday closed above the $100 a barrel mark, driven mostly by a jump in U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for December and supply concerns over Iran's sabre-rattling.
Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for February delivery rose $1.66 to $101.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.
A weaker dollar also supported demand for dollar-denominated oil. The dollar index which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, was down 0.2 percent at 79.825.
In economic news, Consumer Confidence in the U.S. jumped to an eight-month high in December, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Tuesday. The board's consumer confidence index surged up to 64.5 in December from a revised 55.2 in November. Economists had been expecting the index to show a much more modest increase to a reading of 59.0. The much bigger than expected increase in consumer confidence index is at its highest level since coming in at 66.0 in April.
The report also showed an improvement in consumers' short-term outlook, as the expectations index jumped to 76.4 in December from 66.4 in November. The present situation index rose to 46.7 in December from 38.3 in November, reflecting an improvement in consumers' assessment of current conditions.
Home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas fell more than anticipated in the month of October, according to a report released by Standard & Poor's on Tuesday. The report showed that the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index fell by an annual rate of 3.4 percent in October compared to a revised 3.5 percent drop in September. Economists had expected prices to fall by about 3.2 percent year-over-year.
For the month of October, the index fell by 0.6 percent on seasonally adjusted basis and by 1.2 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis. The 20-City Composite Home Price Index is down by 32.1 percent compared to its peak in 2006 but is up 1.9 percent from its recent low in March of 2011.
