OIL prices settled below US$97 a barrel yesterday on mixed signs about the strength of crude demand in the US amid growing inventories.

Benchmark crude fell by US$1.25 to end at US$96.36 per barrel in New York, reflecting weak demand for petroleum products in the US.

Brent crude rose by 51 cents to finish at US$112.07 per barrel in London.

A jump of US crude inventories last week by 4 million barrels suggested oil consumption is sluggish. Analysts expected a rise of 3 million barrels. However, factories raised output in January by the most in seven months and construction spending rose 1.5 percent in December, the fifth straight monthly gain.

Oil prices have hovered near US$100 for the last few months amid mixed economic signs from the US, Europe and Asia. Some analysts expect crude to begin to rise as the global economy may grow more this year than previously expected.

Analysts noted the divergence between Nymex and Brent, with the American contract falling because of rising stockpiles and the European contract boosted by uncertainty over sanctions and the diplomatic standoff with Iran, as well as the 10-month uprising against the regime in Syria.

In other energy trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas futures rose 17 cents to finish at US$2.55 per 1,000 cubic feet. Natural gas hit a 10-year low last month at US$2.32 per 1,000 cubic feet, and the price is still less than half of it what it was in 2010.

Heating oil rose by about a penny to end at US$3.05 per gallon and gasoline futures fell by 2 cents to finish the day at US$2.87 per gallon.