West Texas Intermediate crude rose a third day on signals that global economic growth will accelerate, bolstering fuel consumption.

Futures advanced as much as 1.4 percent as the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose to 83.7 in May, higher than any of the forecasts in a survey. A government report yesterday showed Japanese gross domestic product grew 3.5 percent at an annualized pace, the most in a year. European Union car sales gained in April for the first time since September 2011.

WTI oil for June delivery rose 22 cents to $95.38 a barrel at 11:30 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down 0.7 percent this week. The volume of all contracts traded was 22 percent above the 100-day average.

Brent crude for July settlement increased 23 cents to $104.01 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The June contract expired at $103.80 yesterday. Volume for all contracts was 1.3 percent lower than the 100-day average.