Crude oil prices were higher Wednesday ahead of the last deluge of economic data before Christmas.

US WTI light sweet crude for February was up 62 cents at $36.75 a barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, on Tuesday said U.S. crude oil inventories fell 3.6 million barrels in the latest week.

US Consumer spending rose 0.3 percent in November, according to data released last night.

The Commerce Department is due to release its durable goods orders report for November at 8:30 am ET.

The personal income component of the personal income and spending report for November is also out.

The Commerce Department will also release its new home sales report for November at 10 am ET.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com