Oil rises

New York oil prices rose above 88 dollars in quiet Asian trade on Monday owing to a narrower US trade deficit and a blizzard sweeping across the American midwest, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, climbed 28 cents to 88.07 dollars per barrel in the afternoon.
Brent North Sea crude for January delivery was also up, gaining 41 cents to 90.89 dollars.
"The cold weather in the northern hemisphere would be supporting the oil prices, as well as positive US trade data released over the weekend," said Serene Lim, oil and gas analyst for ANZ bank in Singapore.