Oil rises

Oil prices edged up in Asian trade on Tuesday, staying above 80 dollars due to improved market sentiment, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, gained 16 cents to 81.50 dollars a barrel in the afternoon after surging past the 80-dollar mark in US trade late Monday.
Brent North Sea crude for September advanced eight cents to 80.90 dollars.
Traders cheered as crude prices finally broke through the stubborn 80-dollar price level late Monday, said Clarence Chu, an oil trader with Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.
"80 dollars was a strong resistance level.... The way we broke through 80, it seems market sentiment is a bit bullish," he told AFP.
Chu added that the 80-dollar level would now support oil prices.
"Typically, if we break through a strong resistance level, that level will become a support level," Chu added.
Crude prices continued their rally from Monday as Wall Street soared following news that the US manufacturing sector had expanded for a 12th straight month in July.
The Institute of Supply Management July manufacturing index fell to 55.5 points from 56.2 percent in June, but this was well above market expectations of 54.2 percent. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing.
However, Chu warned that forthcoming weekly US crude inventory numbers issued by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) had the potential to derail the recent rally.
"All eyes are on the EIA numbers, that could really change the game," he said.