Oil prices rose further above $91 a barrel today on an unexpectedly sharp fall in US crude oil inventories.
US light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 37 cents to $91.61 a barrel earlier today, remaining in its recent $90-$95 range.
London Brent crude rose 20 cents to $91.68 a barrel.
Prices leapt more than $1 a day ago, ending a four-day retreat after data showed that crude stockpiles in the world's largest energy consumer dropped 7.6 million barrels last week to 296.9 million, the lowest since February 2005.
Analysts had expected a draw of only 1.6 million barrels, although the bullish impact was muted by signs that the fall was caused by a slowdown in imports. Fog interrupted shipping along the US Gulf Coast, and an ice storm in the US heartland temporarily shut down major crude oil pipelines.
US crude stocks have fallen about 16 per cent since late June, and are about 9 per cent below a year ago, pressured in part by Opec output restraints, according to the US Energy Information Administration.