LONDON, March 27: The price of oil scaled six-month high points here on Wednesday, boosted by figures showing a steep and unexpected fall in US crude oil stock levels.

Reference Brent North Sea crude for May delivery rose to $25.65 from $25.31 on Tuesday evening, levels not seen since mid-September.

In New York, Benchmark light sweet crude May futures gained 37 cents on Tuesday to close at $25.36.

Prices gained a fillip from figures from the private API pointing to further falls in US inventories of gasoline and distillate fuel stocks last week, and a surprise drop in crude stocks.

Gasoline stocks fell for the fifth week in a row, by 2.1 million barrels.—AFP