Oil rises above $94 a barrel after US holiday

BANGKOK (AP) -- The price of oil rose above $94 per barrel Tuesday as traders awaited U.S. economic indicators following a long holiday weekend.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 43 cents to $94.56 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 10 cents to close at $94.15 per barrel on Friday. Monday was a public holiday in the U.S. and Britain.

Traders think global energy demand could weaken after a survey by HSBC Corp. released last week showed a decline in China's manufacturing for May. An official report on factory production in the world's second-largest economy will be released later in the week.

Data releases later Tuesday in Washington, including indexes of home prices and consumer confidence, should help clarify the state of the recovery in the world's biggest economy. First-quarter U.S. growth figures will be issued Thursday.

Brent crude, a benchmark for many international oil varieties, rose 85 cents to $103.49 a barrel.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

— Wholesale gasoline rose 0.9 cent to $2.837 a gallon.

— Heating oil rose 3.4 cents to $2.889 per gallon.

— Natural gas added 0.6 cent to $4.243 per 1,000 cubic feet.