The price of Brent crude oil rose this evening as cold weather in Europe, tensions over Iran's nuclear programme and turmoil in Syria outweighed concerns about the possibility of a Greek debt default and any resulting impact on oil demand.
But US crude fell on pressure from a recent rise in inventory levels, tepid demand for petroleum products and unseasonably mild weather limiting heating fuel demand.
Europe's bitterly cold weather was reported to have killed another 33 people today. Natural gas supplies to the EU from Russia improved at the weekend but have not fully recovered, the European Commission said.
Brent crude rose $1.06 to $115.64 a barrel, but US crude fell 72 cents to $97.12.
While most of Europe shivers, US total heating demand this week is expected to be 14.5% below normal and heating oil demand to be 20.5% below normal.
The potential for supply disruptions in the Middle East remained in focus after Iran's Revolutionary Guards deputy commander said on Sunday that Tehran would target any country used as a launching pad for attacks against its soil.
This latest warning came after the country's supreme clerical leader last week threatened reprisals for the West's new ban on Iranian oil exports and after the US defence secretary was quoted as saying Israel was likely to bomb Iran within months to prevent Tehran from assembling nuclear weapons.
China will halve its crude oil imports from Iran in March compared to average monthly purchases a year ago, as a dispute over payments and prices stretches into a third month, oil industry sources involved in the deals said.
