Oil prices rose in "a technical rally" that followed earlier selling as light sweet crude for April delivery rose by over one dollar to settle at US$63.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Though the U.S. market is well supplied, with almost 340 million barrels of crude oil in commercial inventories, 10% more than a year ago, prices are 15% higher than a year ago, reflecting worries about the stability of supplies from Iran and Nigeria. Refiners are in the midst of the turnaround season when they shut down their plants to perform maintenance ahead of summer, which is the busiest period for gasoline production and it causes supplies to tighten and prices to rise.
17-Mar-06 
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