Oil price rises on Nigeria supply woes, US growth

The Associated Press

Benchmark U.S. crude for May delivery was up 20 cents to $101.48 a barrel at 0740 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.02 to $101.28 on Thursday.

Concerns are growing in energy markets about supply from Nigeria, which produces about 2.5 million barrels of oil daily, after reports of sabotage at a pipeline, where leaks have forced Shell Nigeria to halt exports from its Forcados terminal since March 4.

Meanwhile, the recovery in the U.S. economy signals greater demand ahead. The Commerce Department raised its economic growth estimate for the last quarter of 2013 to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent, largely because of higher consumer spending.

Brent crude, a benchmark for international varieties of oil, fell 13 cents to $107.70 on the ICE exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on Nymex:

— Wholesale gasoline was down 0.5 cent at $2.935 a gallon.

— Heating oil fell 0.4 cent to $2.939 a gallon.

— Natural gas advanced 0.8 cent to $4.546 per 1,000 cubic feet.