Crude oil futures rose Friday as traders positioned themselves ahead of the expiration of the December contract and on investors' belief that supplies are not as plentiful as a government report at first suggested, according to AP. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $1.47 to $94.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Friday's gains reverse a 66-cent loss in the previous session that came after the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported an unexpected 2.8 million barrel increase in inventories last week. But much of that supply build occurred on the West Coast, where the energy infrastructure is largely isolated from the rest of the country, analysts said. «I think the market may have realized overnight that that EIA report wasn't that bearish,» said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois. Analysts also said oil prices could be volatile as investors square positions ahead of Friday's expiration of the December crude contract. «The only sure thing today is volatility,» said Addison Armstrong, an analyst at TFS Energy Futures LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. January crude rose $1.48 to $93.55 a barrel on the Nymex. Reports that ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries were planning to release a statement rejecting U.S. requests that OPEC increase production also were supporting prices, analysts said. Earlier this week, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said he has asked OPEC to boost output. However, those reports appeared to contradict a Thursday statements by OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri that the group was ready to increase oil production «if that will contribute to lower the (crude) price.» Other energy futures also rose Friday. December gasoline futures rose 3.83 cents to $2.3745 a gallon on the Nymex, while December heating oil futures rose 4.02 cents to $2.5989 a gallon. December natural gas futures gained 5 cents to $7.75 per 1,000 cubic feet on the Nymex. In London, January Brent crude futures gained $1.14 to $91.37 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
