Oil prices rose

 Oil prices rose

World oil prices rose on Wednesday (Thursday morning GMT ) , the U.S. contract gained impetus from the inventory report " bullish " and another blast of winter is very cold again swept the country .

The main contract , light sweet crude or West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ) for delivery in April , up 76 cents during trading sessions , to close at 102.59 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange , AFP reported .

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery edged up a penny to settle at 109.52 dollars in London trade .

Fuel inventory reports weekly U.S. Department of Energy ( DoE ) raised the price of crude oil on the New York morning trading , the details of which points to a potential improvement in consumer demand in the world 's biggest crude oil .

Commercial crude oil supplies rose only 100,000 barrels last week , one-eighth of analysts' estimates .

Inventories at Cushing , Oklahoma , the depot serves as a reference for WTI , fell 1.1 million barrels , supporting oil prices , said Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates .

The opening of the southern part of the Keystone XL pipeline , which carries oil from Cushing to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast , has reduced buildup in the center of WTI crude oil .

" Operates refineries higher ... keeping the U.S. inventory under control , " said Lipow .

The difference between the price of WTI and Brent has narrowed since Monday to levels not seen for months . On Wednesday Brent closing Wednesday , the price difference stood at 6.93 billion U.S. dollars, the lowest gap since October .

The DoE also reported distillate stocks , which include heating oil , slightly higher last week , with 300,000 barrels . Despite this increase snapped a six consecutive weeks , the rate remained 9.0 percent lower than a year ago because most of the country has been hit by a severe winter .

Lipow predicts the distillate market will continue to be supported by cold weather " is expected to continue for the next 10 days . "

Political unrest in oil-producing Venezuela , as well as Libya and South Sudan , still supporting the market , analysts said .

" The market is concerned about supply disruptions in Venezuela , " said Lipow .