Crude gains on hopes for U.S. deal to avoid fiscal cliff

                                    Crude oil futures rose on Monday on hopes U.S. policymakers will strike a last-minute deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, a potentially recessionary combo of tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect with the close of 2012.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at USD91.27 a barrel on Monday, up 0.52%, off from a session high of USD91.34 and up from an earlier session low of USD90.00.

Failure to agree on fiscal framework in the U.S. now will allow tax breaks to expire at the end of 2012  alongside deep spending cuts, a combination known as a fiscal cliff that could push the U.S. economy into a recession next year, which would seriously crimp demand for fuels and energy.

While lawmakers were scrambling to reach a deal on the last day of 2012, oil futures rose on hopes negotiations will lead to some sort of agreement that resolves uncertainty even if a solution involves stop-gap measures that give the nation's leaders more time to address longer-term fiscal reforms.

Meanwhile on the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent oil futures for February delivery were up 0.07% at USD110.69 a barrel, up USD19.42 from its U.S. counterpart. - Investing.com