Oil prices on the rise again

Nothing new here.

NEW YORK — Oil futures jumped back above $91 (U.S.) Friday, building on the previous session's gains on renewed concerns about supply disruptions and also advancing on waning fears of a U.S. recession that would curb demand.

Crude gained on word that oil exports from Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer and a major U.S. supplier, could fall by as much as 1 million barrels a day due to the country's deteriorating security situation and planned maintenance. Nigeria is locked in a long-running battle with rebels intent on hurting the nation's oil industry infrastructure.

Prices also rose on news that North Sea oil production has been cut by 280,000 barrels a day due to technical problems at a Total SA oil field, and that Russian crude output could fall this year due to the depletion of a large oil field, said JBC Energy GmbH, an energy research firm in Vienna, in a research report.

Concerns that Venezuela might retaliate in some way after Exxon Mobil Corp. won court orders freezing assets of its state oil company also pushed prices higher. Exxon Mobil is seeking compensation for assets lost when Venezuela appropriated company assets last year as part of President Hugo Chavez's nationalization of several large oil projects.

Meanwhile, energy investors found reason to hope that the U.S. economy will dodge a serious downturn.

“Crude traders also responded positively to the news that Congress has passed an economic stimulus package aimed at boosting consumption and staving off a recession,” said Addison Armstrong, director of exchange traded markets at TFS Energy Futures LLC in Stamford, Conn., in a research note.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery jumped $3.66 to settle at $91.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil also rose on worries that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will cut production in a bid to keep prices from falling too low. Oil prices are more than 10 per cent below their record of $100.09 a barrel reached early last month, and many analysts believe prices could fall further if economic conditions deteriorate.

Analysts said technical factors also lifted oil futures. Twice in recent weeks, oil prices have dipped to nearly $86, only to bounce back. That price, which crude futures have failed to broach since early December, is now seen as a psychologically important support level that may keep prices trading in a narrow range around $90 for the foreseeable future.

“If we break below that, I think we're going to see further weakness,” said Adam Hewison, president of INO.com, a financial Web site that specializes in futures trading.

At the U.S. pump, meanwhile, gas prices fell 0.6 cent overnight to a national average of $2.966 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Retail gas prices, which typically lag the futures market, have retreated from levels above $3 a gallon in recent weeks, following oil's downward tack. However, prices are 77 cents higher than a year ago, and the Energy Department predicts they will rise to new records near $3.50 a gallon this spring.

Other energy futures also rose Friday. March heating oil futures jumped 9.56 cents to settle at $2.5541 a gallon on the Nymex, and March gasoline rose 8.94 cents to settle at $2.3572 a gallon. March natural gas futures rose 19.9 cents to settle at $8.301 per 1,000 cubic feet. Natural gas and heating oil prices were boosted by forecasts for colder weather in the Northeast and Midwest.

In London, March Brent crude rose $3.43 to settle at $91.94 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.