NEW YORK (AFP) - World oil prices halted a 10-day, 11.5-percent slide, clawing higher on terrorism fears and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's critical condition, analysts said.
New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, rose 79 cents to 49.70 dollars a barrel. In the previous 10 days it had plummeted 6.35 dollars, or 11.5 percent.
Brent North Sea crude rose 41 cents to 46.42 dollars.
A reported accident at a nuclear power plant in central Russia spooked the market, despite official assurances that the malfunction was a minor glitch, said Fimat USA analyst John Kilduff.
News that police had evacuated the US embassy and its surroundings in The Hague on Friday after receiving a bomb threat elevated fears of terrorism ahead of the weekend, he said.
"That kind of terrorism worry played into Friday's traditional short-covering," Kilduff said.
Arafat's condition underpinned nervousness.
"Arafat's ill health is adding tension and underpinning prices ahead of the weekend," said Informa Global Markets analyst Peter Luxton in London.
Dealers were wary after the Palestinian authority and Israeli government stepped up security and made preparations to prevent a descent into anarchy in the event of the veteran leader's death.
Arafat's health "has not deteriorated" and is considered stable, a French official outside the Paris hospital treating the 75-year-old Palestinian leader said Friday.
A senior Palestinian official said earlier Friday that Arafat was in a coma and was between life and death.
Fears of a winter supply crunch in the United States have eased after the US Energy Department reported Wednesday that crude oil inventories rose 6.3 million barrels to 289.7 million barrels in the week to October 29.
However, markets remain concerned about the low levels of US stockpiles of distillates -- mostly crucial heating oil and diesel.
Distillates dropped 900,000 barrels to 115.7 million, below the average range for this time of year, the US Energy Department said.
A "strong natural gas build in the US has continued the recent trend of strong US crude inventory data, which has caused oil prices to skid lower," Luxton said.
Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo, said oil prices traditionally go on a downward cycle from end-October to mid-November.
"People want to wait and see what happens in the winter so they don't want to keep long (bought) positions," he said.
Emori said 48 dollars a barrel was a critical support level, which if breached could see prices falling further in the short term.
11/05/2004 - 21:36 GMT - AFP