London – Crude-oil prices climbed Tuesday amid concerns about supply disruptions following militant attacks on oil pipelines in Nigeria.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained $1.22 to settle at $61.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Nymex had been closed Monday for the U.S. Presidents Day holiday.
Nigeria is Africa’s leading oil exporter and the United States’ fifth-largest supplier, usually exporting 2.5 million barrels daily.
The militants, who are pressing for the release of two of the region’s leaders from prison and greater control of oil revenues, have threatened to fire rockets at any ships transporting crude oil from Nigeria.
Militants attacked a Royal Dutch Shell Plc-operated pipeline switching station Monday and a boat they claimed housed Nigerian military personnel, vowing to spread their campaign across the south – the area from which most of the country’s crude is pumped.
