U.S. oil demand rose for the first time in five years in 2010, capped by a gain of 2.7 percent in December, government data released Friday show.

Demand of 19.148 million barrels a day was up 2 percent, or 377,000 barrels a day, from a year earlier, compared with average declines of about 950,000 barrels a day in the last two recession-hit years. Consumption in the world’s biggest oil user was some 8 percent, or 1.7 million barrels a day, less than the 20.8 million barrels a day peak hit in 2005. Get the full story »