Crude oil prices rebounded above 59 dollars a barrel Tuesday as the International Energy Agency ( IEA) forecast a strong increase in global demand this year.

The IEA raised its 2007 world oil demand estimates on Tuesday, saying that "Global oil product demand is raised by 111,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2006 to 84.5 million bpd and by 273,000 bpd in 2007 to 86.0 million bpd following revisions to China."

Light crude for March delivery jumped 1.25 dollars to 59.06 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude at London's ICE Futures exchange rose 43 cents to 57.03 dollars a barrel.

The rebound followed a drop of more than 2 dollars on Tuesday caused by Saudi oil minister's speech and moderating temperatures in the U.S. Northeast.

The ongoing winter storm in the U.S. Midwest also boosted the prices, said analysts.

Source: Xinhua