Oil extended gains into a fifth day today to push toward a new two-month high.
US light crude for April delivery was up 10 cents at $61.49 a barrel by early this morning, after having settled today at $61.39, its highest settlement in more than two months. London Brent crude was up 3 cents at $61.36.
The trend comes amid forecasts for a further fall in US fuel inventories and the increasingly tense stand-off over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
World powers met yesterday in London and agreed to work on a new UN Security Council resolution to put pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme, after a deadline for Tehran to halt its nuclear programme came and went unheeded last week.
Renewed violence in Iraq and continued unrest in Nigeria also continue to threaten supplies.
Moreover, a cold snap in the US Midwest and Northeast, two key heating oil markets, has added support to prices at a time when refinery glitches and lower imports threaten to further drain gasoline stocks ahead of the summer driving season.