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Summary Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Friday as some traders took.
New Yorks main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, rose 26 cents to $98.04 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for December delivery shed eight cents to $113.63.Crude traders were making a quick buck after prices shot up in late US trade Thursday, said Victor Shum, senior principal of Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore. Its simply profit-taking after the big comeback yesterday in the US, he told AFP.It was a confluence of a lot of positive economic news in the US and Europe, and some data from China on growth in its oil imports last month, Shum added.The US had a rare reprieve from its economic woes on Thursday as government data showed the trade gap of the worlds largest oil consumer narrowed in September and unemployment claims fell to a seven-month low last week.European debt worries also eased slightly as Greece named a new prime minister and Italys borrowing rate fell from unsustainable levels reached on Wednesday.Figures issued Thursday showing stronger-than-expected oil imports by China, the worlds biggest energy consumer, also boosted oil markets overnight.
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