Oil prices rose for the third consecutive day today, nearing $72 a barrel, as rebel attacks in Nigeria hit output from the OPEC-member country and economic optimism propelled stock markets higher.
US crude rose 49 cents to $71.76 a barrel, having topped $72 earlier. London Brent crude gained 45 cents to $71.51.
Nigeria's MEND group said today it had attacked a pipeline operated by Italy's Agip, hot on the heels of previous attacks on facilities operated by Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron. Together, the attacks have cut at least 133,000 barrels of daily output.
Rebels in Nigeria, the world's seventh-largest oil exporter, have been carrying out attacks on the oil industry for years in what they claim is a struggle aimed at spreading the region's energy wealth to the poor local communities.
Oil prices also received support from political turmoil in Iran, the world's fifth largest exporter, in the wake of its presidential election.
Analysts said gains on Wall Street, fed by optimism that the worst of the economic recession was over, encouraged commodity buying by brightening the outlook for demand. Oil prices have nearly doubled since February on signs of a potential economic recovery.
