Oil prices rose Thursday as investors weighed signs of growing global oil demand and surging U.S. shale production. Light, sweet crude for April delivery gained 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $61.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, advanced 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $65.12 a barrel. Global oil demand should grow by 1.5 million barrels a day, to an average of 99.3 million barrels a day in 2018, the International Energy Agency said Thursday in its closely watched monthly oil-market report. The estimate was an upward revision of 90,000 barrels a day. Robust demand should help offset burgeoning U.S. shale oil production , largely keeping the oil market balanced this year, according to the agency. On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline stockpiles fell by 6.3 million barrels and diesel stockpiles fell by 4.4. million barrels, exceeding analyst expectations and […]