Oil prices edge higher

London - Oil prices rose on Tuesday with cold weather in the United States pushing demand for heating fuel higher and credit growth in China also lending support, analysts said.

New York's main contract West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in March rose 77c to $101.07 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for April gained 30c to stand at $109.48 a barrel in London afternoon deals.

"Right now we are looking at a rise in the China credit growth being a surprise on the upside alongside the persistent cold in the US giving a near term support for WTI benchmark," said Desmond Chua, market analyst at CMC markets in Singapore.

Banks

The United States is enduring an especially bitter winter, with the midwestern and southern states experiencing unusually low temperatures, driving up demand for heating fuels, of which crude oil is a feedstock.

Investors meanwhile are waiting for banking giant HSBC's purchasing manager's index (PMI) data for February from China due to be released on Thursday for clues on the health of the world's second biggest economy.

The January PMI figures showed China's key manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in six months.

Loans by Chinese banks reached around $214bn in January.  The January lending figure beat analyst estimates.