WTI Crude Rises as Improved U.S. Economy Bolsters Demand

West Texas Intermediate crude rose for the first time in three days as signs of an improving U.S. economy and record new credit in China bolstered the demand outlook for the world’s two biggest oil consumers.

Futures climbed 0.6 percent in New York, extending a fifth weekly gain. China’s aggregate financing, the broadest measure of credit, reached 2.58 trillion yuan ($425 billion) in January, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on Feb. 15, signaling momentum to sustain growth. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer confidence held at 81.2 this month, topping the median estimate of 80.2 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.