World oil prices rose sharply the second day on the eve of U.S. weekly energy stockpiles report, which surged above 63 dollars Monday, amid worries about the security of supplies in Iran and Nigeria.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, rose 1.33 dollars to close at 63.10 dollars a barrel.

On London's ICE Futures exchange, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery gained 1.71 dollars to end at 63.91 dollars per barrel in closing deals.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the heating oil rose 8.34 cents to close at 1.8212 dollars a gallon as gasoline futures advanced 12.27 cents to 1.866 dollars per gallon. Natural gas futures gained 16 cents to finish at 7.167 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet.

The U.S. Department of Energy was to publish a weekly report on U.S. fuel stockpiles Wednesday.

The International Energy Agency, a watchdog for the world's energy consumers, on Tuesday lowered its 2006 oil demand estimate by 290,000 barrels per day because of persistently high fuel prices and slowing consumption in Southeast Asia.

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. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council met early Monday but failed to bridge their differences over how to respond to Iran's nuclear crisis.

Iran is OPEC's number two producer behind Saudi Arabia, making four million bpd of oil and exporting 2.4 million bpd.

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.

Source: Xinhua