The Associated Press
The price of oil rose Wednesday amid expectations for solid demand after the International Monetary Fund raised its growth forecasts for the world and U.S. economies.
Benchmark U.S. crude for March delivery was up 44 cents at $95.41 a barrel at 0630 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The IMF said Tuesday it expects the world economy to grow 3.7 percent this year and the U.S. economy by 2.8 percent. Both are slightly higher than its previous projections.
Underpinning expectations of increased demand for crude is the recent decision by the International Energy Agency to raise its demand forecast for 2014 by 90,000 barrels a day.
Brent crude, used to set prices for international varieties of crude, gained 34 cents to $107.07 on the ICE exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on Nymex:
— Natural gas rose 3.1 cents to $4.462 per 1,000 cubic feet.
— Wholesale gasoline added 1.4 cents to $2.648 a gallon.
— Heating oil gained 1.3 cent to $2.9641 a gallon.
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