Oil prices rose extending a rally caused by a larger-than-expected drop in US energy stockpiles.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, rose 26 cents to $77.02 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 18 cents to $75.63 dollars.
The Christmas Eve market surge was largely driven by a fall in energy inventories in the US - the world's biggest consumer - that had been far larger than expected.
Data released by the US Department of Energy earlier in the week showed stockpiles of crude dropping by 4.9 million barrels to 327.5 million in the week ending December 18, far above analyst expectations of a 1.1 million barrel drawback.
Distillate inventories also slid 3.1 million barrels last week, against forecasts of a 1.6 million barrel fall. Data for distillates, which include heating oil, is in focus as winter starts to bite in the US and Europe.
Analysts cautioned, however, that despite the fall in stockpiles, inventory levels were still high. Oil prices have, meanwhile, risen for much of the week as traders bet on improving demand after OPEC decided against changing the cartel's official crude output levels.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, as expected, held its crude output quotas unchanged at its meeting in Angola earlier this week, warning of lingering weakness in the world economy.
The meeting capped a year of recovery for oil prices, which have more than doubled since the cartel set strict quota cuts in the depths of the economic crisis a year ago.
In January, the cartel enforced total OPEC cuts of 4.2 million barrels a day, which helped prices recover from around $32 a year ago.
Meanwhile last week, OPEC slightly upgraded its forecast for world oil demand growth next year but said usage in advanced economies would contract again. Several of the cartel's members have said the current price of oil is comfortable for them.
