Oil rose on Monday to touch a five-week high over $79 a barrel as expectations of colder weather in the United States and signs of economic recovery boosted the outlook for fuel demand. US crude traded up 95 cents from Thursday's close to $79.00 by 11:15 am EST (1615 GMT) in thin trade, after earlier touching $79.12, the highest since November 23. Oil markets were shut on Friday for the Christmas holiday.
Brent crude rose 95 cents to $77.26 a barrel. Oil has climbed more than 12 percent from a dip below $70 two weeks ago on expectations of rising consumption and falling inventories in the United States, where companies have been drawing down stockpiles for end-year tax purposes. "There were some strong draws in the stocks last week and it is cold in the US," said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix. "But the volumes are very light."
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