* Cold snap across U.S., Europe boosts prices
* Eyes on Russia-Belarus oil price spat
* U.S. crude, distillate inventories seen falling
(Updates prices, inventory poll, adds weekly U.S. gasoline
demand report)
By Edward McAllister
NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Tuesday, up for the
ninth straight day as cold weather in the United States and
Europe boosted demand for heating fuel.
U.S. crude for February delivery <CLc1> traded up 9 cents
to $81.60 a barrel by 2:25 EST (1825 GMT), off an earlier high
of $81.99, a cent below the October 2009 high. On Monday, the
market settled up $2.15 at $81.51, the highest close since Oct.
9, 2008.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> climbed 32 cents to $80.44 a
barrel.
"Oil prices are on a cold-weather rally, with heating oil
demand seen rising for the next few weeks amid forecasts for
temperatures for much of the country to be much below normal in
that period," said Andy Lebow, broker at MF Global in New
York.
"At the same time, economic indicators showing the economy
is improving implies higher demand for diesel fuel," he added.
Crude markets have in recent months looked to wider
economic data for signs of a turnaround that could bolster
flagging oil demand.
The Dow industrials slipped as a plunge in November pending
home sales increased concerns about the housing market, though
a sign of improvement in the manufacturing sector limited
losses. []
U.S. retail gasoline demand fell 3.5 percent in the week to
Jan. 1, compared with the previous week, according to a
MasterCard SpendingPulse report, but consumption was up 1.2
percent compared with year-ago levels. []
Investors were also awaiting weekly U.S. oil inventory data
from the American Petroleum Institute (API) later on Tuesday
and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters forecast the data will show a drop
in distillate and crude stockpiles. []
COLD SNAP CONTINUES
Frigid temperatures in the U.S. were expected to boost the
country's heating demand to 21 percent above normal, with
consumption in the U.S. Northeast -- the largest heating oil
market -- seen 11 percent above average levels. []
[]
Unusually cold weather in Britain is expected to continue
into the second half of January after the coldest December
since 1995, while lower temperatures in Europe were seen
gradually spreading from the northeast to the southwest during
the next few days. [] []
Heavy snow and biting cold also hit parts of Asia on
Monday, with unusually harsh winter weather snarling transport
across north China, South Korea and India. []
Investors were watching for any further developments
between Russia and Belarus after an oil dispute saw Russia
briefly cut off supplies to the Eastern European nation. Russia
on Monday said it had resumed supplies to refineries in
Belarus, but tension still simmers. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons in New
York, Joe Brock in London and Jennifer Tan in Singapore;
Editing by Christian Wiessner)
