Oil rises as U.S. stimulus hopes outweigh weak demand Oil prices rose on Thursday as hopes that the White House would move quickly on an economic stimulus package outweighed flagging demand and rising inventories in the world's top consumers. U.S. crude settled 12 cents higher at $43.67 a barrel, after falling as low as $40.41 earlier. London Brent settled at $45.39 a barrel, up 37 cents. Earlier in the day, crude prices had dropped after a U.S. government report showed that crude oil, gasoline and distillate fuels rose last week as demand for fuels weakened again. The U.S. stock market pared early losses after a spokesman said President Obama's administration is committed to moving as quickly as possible on an economic stimulus plan. "Crude is still resilient, despite the big build you have seen in the EIA data. I have a feeling that there will soon be a rebound in the stock market and that will spill over to the energy markets," said Mark Waggoner, president of Excel Futures in Huntington Beach, California. "In the last week, I've seen investor confidence improving, with the new Obama administration now installed ... I feel that if this confidence continues, it will spill into more (consumer) buying and that will improve demand for gasoline and other energy products," he added. Oil fell in early trade after U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed that crude oil inventories jumped 6.1 million barrels last week, well above expectations for a build of 1.4 million barrels.