World crude oil prices rose Wednesday after a U.S. weekly stockpiles report indicated lower- than-expected supplies of gasoline and diesel.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, rose 47 cents to 66.70 dollars a barrel.

On London's ICE Futures exchange, the price of Brent North Sea crude for May delivery rose 21 cents to 66.60 dollars a barrel.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the heating oil rose less than a cent to 1.8610 dollars a gallon as gasoline futures rose more than four cents to 1.94 dollars per gallon. Natural gas futures fell 4 cents to 7.03 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet.

The Energy Department said in its weekly report that domestic inventories of gasoline shrank by 4.4 million barrels last week to 211.8 million barrels, or roughly in line with year-ago levels. The nation's supply of distillate, which includes diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.6 million barrels to 121.6 million barrels, or 16 percent more than last year.

Traders are still concerned about a possible halt in Iran's oil exports if the United Nations imposes sanctions for its nuclear activities.

A volatile situation in Nigeria, where oil output has been reduced as a result of militant attacks, also dragged down market sentiment as traders worry about the prospect of crude supplies. Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports.

Source: Xinhua