April 11, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428

LONDON, April 10: World oil prices rebounded on Tuesday after plunging a day earlier on profit-taking, as key crude producer Iran again tested Western nerves, analysts said.The price of Brent North Sea crude for May delivery added 71 cents to $67.30 per barrel in London electronic deals.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, gained 49 cents to $62.00 per barrel in floor trading.

The difference between the Brent and New York -- at about $5 -- was at a record high owing to oversupply in the US midcontinent, dealers said.

The New York contract had dived $2.77 and Brent shed $1.28 on Monday, as investors banked profits in light Easter trade. However, they rebounded on Tuesday.

“Crude oil futures were higher as the market recovered on news that Iran is stepping up its nuclear enrichment programme despite UN sanctions and calls from the West not to do so,” Sucden analyst Michael Davies said in London.

Iran, the world's fourth biggest producer of crude, on Tuesday pledged to further expand its nuclear drive after announcing that its activities had entered an industrial phase, sparking new criticism from the West and renewed calls for negotiation.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the market revisited concerns over tight US gasoline or petrol supplies, dealers said.

The US Department of Energy was set Wednesday to publish its weekly snapshot of crude oil inventories in the United States over the past week.

US gasoline reserves, which are being closely watched ahead of the American driving season, fell five million barrels to 205.2 million in the week to March 30, against a forecast drawdown of 300,000 barrels.

The sharper-than-expected fall is heightening concerns ahead of the US summer when many Americans take to the road on vacation.

“The (oil) market is also being supported by expectations of another draw in US gasoline stocks,” added Sucden's Davies. —AFP