Oil prices were up in Asia on Friday after US President Barack Obama called an 11th-hour meeting with top congressional leaders to negotiate an elusive deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, analysts said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in
February added 42 cents to $91.29 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 28 cents to $111.08 in the morning.
Traders welcomed news of Obama’s meeting with congressional leaders later Friday, convened a day after he returned to Washington from his shortened Christmas vacation, said Yang Weiming, premium client manager of IG Markets Singapore.