World crude oil prices rallied above 70 dollars Tuesday amid worries over Iran, on the eve of U.S. weekly energy stocks report.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, added 92 cents to end at 70.69 dollars a barrel.

On London's ICE Futures exchange, the price of Brent North Sea crude for June delivery was up 87 cents to 71.08 dollars a barrel.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Tehran is waiting for Washington's response to his letter to U.S. President George W. Bush. Ahmadinejad said that his letter carried the Iranian nation's views and comments on international issues as well as suggestions for resolving many problems that face humanity.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said on Monday that the letter did not address international concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

Foreign ministers of the United Nations Security Council's five permanent member states plus Germany met in New York later Monday to map out a common strategy to force Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities. But the meeting failed to reach an agreement.

Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Monday that buyers "should not hope" for a hike in world crude oil production at the July meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. He said there was little OPEC could do now to influence international oil prices.

Meanwhile, about one-fourth of Nigeria's daily output is still shut after a series of militant attacks. Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports.

The Energy Department will update the inventory statistics Wednesday morning. Crude supplies likely fell by 575,000 barrels last week, according to analysts polled by Bloomberg, as refiners increased their processing capacities.

Source: Xinhua