Oil Prices Rise on Cold Weather in Europe, U.S.

Oil prices gained Monday morning as expectations of cold weather in the U.S. and Europe raised demand.

U.S. crude for January delivery rose 15 cents to $88.20 a barrel at 7:48 GMT, Reuters reported. ICE Brent for February rose 13 cents to $91.80.

"Prices are going back up because of the really bad weather in the United States and Europe," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Mitsubishi Corp.

Cold weather has engulfed much of Europe, disrupting travel across the continent. The U.S. Northeast, the world's top heating oil market, is expected to be unusually cold between Dec. 24 and Dec. 28.

U.S. heating oil futures advanced 0.13 cents to $2.4750 a gallon, while gasoline rose 1.11 cents to $2.3290 a gallon.

" Expectations of strong holiday driving demand and colder weather predictions lifted gasoline futures, which also buoyed the crude market," said ANZ Commodity Research in its daily market report.