Singapore - Crude prices edged up in Asia on Wednesday as traders awaited a European Union summit later this week that will focus on finding a resolution to the region's debt crisis, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, gained 15 cents to $101.43 a barrel in the afternoon.
Brent North Sea crude for January delivery rose 3c to $110.84.
Eurozone debt fears hung over the market as traders awaited the meeting on Thursday and Friday, said John Vautrain, vice president of Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore.
"We've got a meeting coming up but we don't have results yet. I think you might interpret this as the market holding its breath until the news breaks one way or the other," he said.
Standard & Poor's ratings agency on Monday placed Germany and France and 13 other euro nations on negative watch and warned of a downgrade if their leaders were unable to come up with a coherent resolution to the debt crisis.
Greek lawmakers earlier on Wednesday approved a 2012 budget pledging tough fiscal goals demanded by its EU partners in return for fresh loans.