LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices rebounded, recovering some ground following heavy losses, as Nigeria geared up for a general strike next week that threatens to disrupt the country's crude exports, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, climbed 48 cents to 47.90 dollars a barrel at about 1700 GMT, after plunging by 1.44 dollars on Thursday.
Brent North Sea crude for December was eight cents higher at 43.10 dollars in late deals in London, having closed down 1.73 dollars the day before.
Prices were "lifted by pre-weekend short covering as security concerns in Iraq heightened," said Informa Global Markets analyst Peter Luxton.
"But, prices will only significantly go higher if there is an attack on Iraqi oil infrastructure," he added.
A planned general strike in Nigeria next week also unsettled markets.
"If they actually shut in the crude production, I think we'll see a spike in prices," said Graham Sharp, director of energy trading at brokerage firm Trafigura.
Nigeria's main oil unions on Thursday said their members would join next week's planned nationwide strike and warned of disruptions to crude exports.
A Nigerian court meanwhile declared the stoppage, due to begin next Tuesday, illegal.
With exports of 2.5 million barrels per day, Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer and the sixth largest in the world. Its sweet, light crude is ideal for refining into petrol, and it supplies around 15 percent of US oil needs.
Prices had plunged on Thursday on easing worries over possible shortages of US heating oil stockpiles heading into the northern hemisphere's winter.
US government data released Wednesday showed that American crude oil inventories had increased by 1.8 million barrels to 291.5 million in the week to November 5, helping to offset a further drop in stockpiles of heating oil.
World oil prices have tumbled by 17 percent in London and 15 percent in New York since October, when the main US contract reached record high points above 55 dollars a barrel.
Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures, said he maintained his projection for oil to hit 63 dollars by the end of December or early January because of anticipated higher demand for winter heating fuel.
"People are in a wait-and-see mood regarding the demand-supply balance during the northern hemisphere winter," he said in Tokyo.
"This is kind of a correction (period) before prices go up in winter."
Emori added that despite rising crude oil inventories, US refineries have their hands full coping with demand.
"If we look at the demand for heating oil, we have to remember again the bottleneck at refineries in the United States," he said.
"I don't think the United States has enough to supply the country's heating oil needs."
11/12/2004 - 17:56 GMT - AFP