Oil held close to US$136 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid lingering concerns over Iran's nuclear conflict and reports of lower-than-expected U.S. oil stockpiles.
Renewed concerns about supply disruptions out of Nigeria also emerged as the main militant group there said it would resume attacks in the country's oil-rich river delta region because of Britain's recent pledge to back the government.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is behind two years of crippling attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure that have sliced the country's normal daily oil output by a quarter and contributed to the worldwide surge in the price of crude. MEND, as the group is known, told The Associated Press that it was abandoning a two-week-old cease-fire as of midnight Saturday.
Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer, is a top supplier of oil to the United States.
"The bull run is really not over yet. The Iranian nuclear situation remains fluid and the market faces supply-side risks with global demand outpacing supply,'' said Victor Shum, an oil analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
"It remains likely that pricing will gain strength and rise to a new peak in the coming weeks,'' he said.
Renewed concerns about supply disruptions out of Nigeria also emerged as the main militant group there said it would resume attacks in the country's oil-rich river delta region because of Britain's recent pledge to back the government.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is behind two years of crippling attacks on Nigeria's oil infrastructure that have sliced the country's normal daily oil output by a quarter and contributed to the worldwide surge in the price of crude. MEND, as the group is known, told The Associated Press that it was abandoning a two-week-old cease-fire as of midnight Saturday.
Nigeria, Africa's biggest crude producer, is a top supplier of oil to the United States.
"The bull run is really not over yet. The Iranian nuclear situation remains fluid and the market faces supply-side risks with global demand outpacing supply,'' said Victor Shum, an oil analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
"It remains likely that pricing will gain strength and rise to a new peak in the coming weeks,'' he said.
