NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Crude prices rose for the ninth straight day on Tuesday as cold weather boosted demand for heating fuel.

    Unusually cold weather has hit the United States, Europe and Asia since last week. Investors expected that the weather would boost heating demand above normal.

    Investors are also awaiting weekly U.S. oil inventory data while analysts forecast the data will show a drop in distillate and crude stockpiles.

    Light, sweet crude for February delivery was up 26 cents to settled at 81.77 U.S. dollars a barrel. In London, Brent crude for February rose 47 cents to 80.59 dollars.