Oil rose for a third day

Oil rose for a third day in New York as Libyan output fell and on speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will maintain the pace of stimulus. Brent oil headed for the biggest gain in more than two weeks.

West Texas Intermediate advanced as much as 1 percent after state-run National Oil Corp. said crude production in Libya, holder of Africa’s largest reserves, declined to about 250,000 barrels a day because of labor protests. The Federal Open Market Committee, starting a two-day meeting tomorrow, is likely to delay reducing, or “tapering,” monthly bond purchases until March, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. Brent rose as much as 2.2 percent.

WTI for December delivery gained 59 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $98.44 a barrel at 11:34 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched $95.95 Oct. 24, the lowest intraday level since June 27. The volume of all futures traded was 27 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent oil for December settlement rose $2.09, or 2 percent, to $109.02 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 4.5 percent higher than the 100-day average. The European benchmark crude traded at a $10.58 premium to WTI, up from $9.08 on Oct. 25. The spread widened to $13.37 on Oct. 23, the most in six months on an intraday basis.