by Sylvie Lanteaume
LONDON, Sept 10 (AFP) - World crude prices rose Friday, supported by concerns over Hurricane Ivan's potential impact on Gulf of Mexico oil operations and disappointing US inventory data, analysts said.
The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in October climbed eight cents to 42.30 dollars per barrel in early trading in London.
Brent had soared by 1.83 dollars to close at 42.22 dollars on Thursday.
New York's reference contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, won 20 cents to 44.81 dollars per barrel in pre-opening electronic deals, having risen 1.84 dollars the previous day.
"We are still pretty strong," GNI-Man Financial trader Lee Elliott said.
"It's holding up pretty much on the back of last night. There was good fund buying at the end of last night keeping prices strong with Hurricane Ivan helping to push the market higher," he said.
Hurricane Ivan hurtled toward Jamaica Friday after devastating the Caribbean island of Grenada, where up to 24 people died, and killing nine others in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Tobago.
The storm packed winds of up to 230 kilometers (145 miles) per hour as it headed for Jamaica where the authorities ordered the population to take emergency precautions before a predicted impact on Friday.
The hurricane meanwhile appeared likely to move into the Gulf of Mexico, the site of considerable oil production.
"Eyes remain on Hurricane Ivan, which is headed for Jamaica and could hit the oil-producing areas of the Gulf of Mexico by early next week," analysts at the Sucden brokerage firm said.
"The storm has shut some oil production off Trinidad and halted Venezuelan shipments from the eastern ports," they added.
Traders' concern over possible disruption to production in the Gulf of Mexico along with weak inventory reports for the United States ahead of the winter heating season sent prices soaring by almost two dollars on Thursday.
The US Energy Department said distillate inventories, which include heating oils, rose by a modest 200,000 barrels to 126.6 million in the week to September 3, well below analysts' forecasts for a rise of 1.25 million barrels.
"US oil demand remains extremely strong. Heating oil inventories are still not building fast enough, and that feature is likely to become an increasing focus for the market," analysts at Barclays Capital said in a note to clients.
Traders were meanwhile looking ahead to next week's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to discuss output policy.
But with prices high and OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia "pumping at full capacity", Lee said he did not expect much to come out of the meeting in Vienna on Wednesday.