World crude oil prices rallied by more than 1 dollar Friday on the eve of a long holiday weekend for the President's Day public holiday, while Nigeria oil product faced new security challenges.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, rose 1.42 dollars to 59.88 dollars per barrel in closing deals. This contract plummeted to 57.65 dollars per barrel on Wednesday, the lowest close for front-month oil futures since Dec. 19., as U.S. energy stockpiles grew.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery climbed 1.10 dollars to close at 59.89 dollars per barrel.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, heating oil rose 3.21 cents to finish at 1.6574 dollars a gallon, while the gasoline rose 9.02 cents to close at 1.5026 dollars a gallon. Natural gas increased 4.8 cents to settle at 7.182 dollars per 1,000 cubic feet.

A Nigerian rebel leader, Godswill Tamuno, told the British Broadcasting Corp. that his "Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta" had warned oil companies and their employees to leave the delta before midnight Friday. Nigeria, with daily exports of 2. 5 million barrels, is Africa's leading oil producer. It is also the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports.

Traders are still concerned about the possibilities that Iran's oil exports would halt if the United Nations imposes international sanctions on Teheran for its nuclear activities.

Venezuela's oil minister Rafael Ramirez said Thursday that OPEC should cut output at its next meeting. "Everyone is building inventories, Japan, the U.S., and that is very dangerous," said Ramirez. "There is an oversupply of one million barrels a day."

Venezuela is one of the few countries to express loud public support for Iran's nuclear energy program.

The New York market will be closed for the President's Day public holiday on Monday.

Source: Xinhua