LONDON, Jan 27: World oil prices rallied on Thursday, supported by fears of possible attacks to pipelines in major producer Iraq ahead of the country's landmark elections this weekend, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March climbed 27 cents to $49.05 a barrel in early deals, having closed down 86 cents on Wednesday. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in March gained 44 cents to $46.95 a barrel, after closing down 45 cents on Wednesday.

"Fear of violence and sabotage attacks in the run-up to Iraqi elections on Sunday continues to underpin the market," analysts at the Sucden brokerage firm said. "Opec will do precisely nothing" on Sunday, Bache Financial trader Christopher Bellew predicted.

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday that it would oppose any reduction in Opec's production ceiling, currently at 27 million barrels per day. Energy Minister Mohammed bin Zaen al-Hameli told the official WAM news agency that the Emirates wanted to see the maintenance of the current ceiling, echoing similar calls from Opec peer Kuwait on Tuesday.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanghaneh said on Monday that although the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries believed the oil market was oversupplied it was unlikely to decide on an output cut in Vienna, where the cartel's headquarters are based.

World oil prices had swung lower on Wednesday on a fall in US heating oil stockpiles. The US Department of Energy said that stocks of distillates, including heating oil, fell by 2.3 million barrels to 121.5 million barrels in the week to January 21

Heating oil inventories alone were down 2.1 million barrels. "Prices came down yesterday after the stats," Bellew said. Elsewhere, threatened disruptions to supplies from Nigeria, the world's sixth-biggest exporter of crude, eased on Thursday after unions in the west African country said they have suspended a planned oil sector strike following peace talks with government officials and company management. -AFP