Singapore — Oil prices rose on Tuesday, lifted by healthy economic growth as well as the ongoing supply restraint by a group of exporters around Opec and Russia. Spot Brent crude futures were at $69.41 at 4.09am GMT, up 38c, or 0.55%, from their last close, not far off the January 15 three-year high of $70.37 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.99 a barrel, up 42c, or 0.7%, from their last settlement. WTI hit its highest since December 2014 on January 16 at $64.89 a barrel. Traders said oil markets were generally well supported by healthy economic growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday revised upward its forecast for world economic growth in 2018 and 2019, to 3.9% for both 2018 and 2019, a 0.2 percentage point increase from its last update in October. The "economic outlook and seasonally colder weather has led to firmer oil demand growth, facilitating the continuation of a fall in oil inventories towards Opec’s recent five-year avera...
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