LONDON, July 20: The price of New York crude struck a fresh 11-month high point on Friday, above $76 a barrel, owing to tight US supplies, while London's Brent oil traded close to its historic high.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, surged to $76.13 per barrel -- the highest since early August 2006. Later Friday it stood at $75.79, down 13 cents from Thursday.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for September delivery eased four cents to $77.63 per barrel after a peak of 77.98.

The August contract had struck $78.40 on Monday, close to Brent's all-time high of 78.64.

“In our view, the oil market is highly overheated at present, irrespective of some news that has favoured prices,” Commerzbank analysts said.

“The actual shortage is being overestimated by market players,” they added in a research note.

Oil prices strengthened this week after official data that revealed an unexpected dive in stockpiles of US gasoline.

US motor fuel inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels in the week ended July 13, to 203.3 million barrels, leaving them 4.5 per cent below their year-earlier levels, the US Department of Energy (DoE) said on Wednesday.

Last week's drop in gasoline inventories compared with analyst forecasts for a rise of 700,000 barrels.

It came as gasoline consumption last week neared 9.71 million barrels per day, its second-highest level on record.

Gasoline stockpiles have been a focus for the market because of current high demand for motor fuel as Americans take to the roads for their summer holidays.

Prices had rallied on Thursday also after French energy giant Total said a problem with a generator at its 220,000 barrel-per-day Dalia oilfield in Angola had shut in around 50 per cent of output at the field.

Oil prices have risen strongly since last week when the International Energy Agency raised its 2008 forecast for oil demand by 2.5 per cent to 88.2 million barrels a day.

The IEA has called for the Opec producers' cartel to pump more crude, notably during the ongoing driving season.

However, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has repeatedly insisted it does not plan to raise output.

—AFP