World oil prices rose modestly Wednesday, shrugging off growing energy stockpiles, amid worries about supply in Nigeria and Iran.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, advanced 56 cents to settle to 61.97 dollars per barrel.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose 69 cents to 62.45 dollars per barrel.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange,the heating oil rose 2.42 cents to close at 1.7466 dollars a gallon as gasoline futures advanced 3.17 cents to 1.6224 dollars per gallon. Natural gas futures gained 1.9 cents to finish at 6.733 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet.U.S. oil inventories grew by 1.6 million barrels last week to 328.3 million barrels, or 9 percent above year ago levels. Gasoline inventories rose a modest 300,000 barrels to 225.9 million barrels, putting them marginally above year ago levels, Department of Energy said Wednesday in its weekly supply report.U. S domestic distillate fuel, which includes diesel and heating oil, declined by 1.5 million barrels to 134.1 million barrels, but still 14 percent higher than a year ago.

In Nigeria, some 455,000 bpd of its oil production- about one- fifth of the country's daily output,or less than 1 percent of total global demand, is still shut after a series of militant attacks. Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer and the fifth- biggest source of U.S. oil imports.

Traders are still concerned about the possibilities that Iran's oil exports would halt if the United Nations imposes Teheran an international sanction for its nuclear activities.

Source: Xinhua