Oil prices rose above $69 a barrel this evening, lifted by news of a bigger than expected fell in US crude oil stockpiles and growing political troubles in some OPEC member countries.
Crude traders appeared to brush off evidence from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) that US distillate stocks - which include heating oil - jumped to their highest level in more than 10 years and that US inventories of petrol rose by more than expected last week as refineries boosted output.
US crude was up 20 cents at $69.44 a barrel, while London Brent crude was up 20 cents at $69.
The data fed into a market sensitive to potential supply disruptions in some members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Multiple militant attacks on pipelines and oil installations in the Niger Delta recently have forced production stoppages at sites run by Agip, Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell.
Iran's deputy oil minister Akbar Torkan was sacked on Monday, and sources said he was replaced for being close to defeated presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi. The world's fifth-largest oil exporter is struggling with its worst civil unrest in 30 years over a disputed presidential election.
