Crude-oil futures climbed toward $88 a barrel in electronic trading Tuesday, supported by optimism that U.S. politicians would be able to strike a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. Benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures for delivery in January climbed 62 cents, or 0.7%, to $87.82 a barrel during Asian hours, extending their 47-cent increase during a regular session on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight. The advance came as reports emerged of President Barack Obama and his Republican negotiating partner House Speaker John Boehner making progress on a bargain to prevent expenditure cuts and tax hikes from automatically kicking in next year. In a counterproposal to Republican leaders, the White House late on Monday offered $1.2 trillion in revenue increases and $1.22 trillion in spending cuts, according to a Reuters report citing an unnamed source. Major Asian markets advanced Tuesday, as did U.S. stock index futures, aiding investor sentiment toward commodities. The ICE dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was at 79.546, little changed from 79.557 in North America late Monday afternoon. Among other energy futures, February gasoline climbed 0.6% to $2.67 per gallon, and February heating oil added 0.7% to $2.98 a gallon. Natural-gas futures for delivery in February slipped 0.3% to $3.35 per million British thermal units. Marketwatch
