Oil Hovers above $93 in Asia

Oil prices hovered above $93 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude supplies grew more than expected last week, suggesting demand remains sluggish. Tweet ShareThis Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 16 cents at $93.33 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.90, or 2.1%, to settle at $93.17 in New York on Tuesday. Brent crude was up 31 cents at $111.23 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London. The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories rose 2.7 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted an increase of 200,000 barrels. Inventories of gasoline added 153,000 barrels last week while distillates dropped 1.8 million barrels, the API said. The Energy Department''s Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later Wednesday. Oil has soared 24% from $75 three weeks ago amid growing investor optimism the U.S. economy will avoid a recession this year. However, the Conference Board said Tuesday that consumer confidence plunged in October to the lowest level since March 2009. "The consumer''s psyche is at its lowest point since the depths of the Great Recession" of 2008-2009, energy trader and consultant The Schork Group said in a report. "Given that consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic growth, that is worrisome." Crude has also surged this month on expectations Europe will be able to contain its sovereign debt crisis. Investors will be closely watching a summit of European leaders later Wednesday for details of a comprehensive plan to limit damage from a possible Greek debt default. In other Nymex trading, heating oil rose 0.4 cents to $3.06 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 0.6 cents at $2.68 per gallon. Natural gas advanced 0.9 cents at $3.67 per 1,000 cubic feet.