World crude oil prices rose above 71 U.S. dollars Monday amid concerns over supply.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, gained 93 cents to close at 71.80 dollars per barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for August delivery climbed 80 cents to close at 70.73 dollars per barrel.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday rejected growing Western pressure to give a speedy response to a new proposal on Iranian nuclear issue.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on Sunday called on the Europeans and the United States to be more patient over its formal response.

The U.S. Department of Energy reported Wednesday that gasoline reserves went up 300,000 barrels to 213.4 million last week. The increase was below the advance of 1.5 million barrels that analysts had predicted.

Supplies of gasoline are closely watched because of the peak demand season in the United States. Over the past four weeks, the nation's demand for gasoline has been running 0.9 percent higher than a year ago.

Source: Xinhua