NEW YORK: US crude oil prices rose more than 2 percent yesterday, narrowing its discount to European Brent for a second day, on a wave of surprisingly upbeat global economic data and supply disruptions in Africa and Iraq. US crude outpaced Brent, adding $2.61 to reach $107.64 a barrel by 12:30pm EDT (1630 GMT), trading $1.69 lower than its North Sea counterpart. Brent crude gained $1.62 to $109.32 a barrel and hit $109.45 intra-day, the highest since July 16. It ended July with the largest monthly percentage gain since August 2012. Reuters
