LONDON — Oil prices rose on Thursday, extending a rally caused by a larger-than-expected drop in US energy stockpiles, traders said.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, rose 37 cents to 77.04 dollars a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 25 cents to 75.70 dollars.
The Christmas Eve market surge was largely driven by a fall in energy inventories in the United States -- the world's biggest consumer -- that had been far larger than expected, analysts said.
Data released by the US Department of Energy on Wednesday showed stockpiles of crude dropping by 4.9 million barrels to 327.5 million in the week ending December 18, far above analyst expectations of a 1.1 million-barrel drawback.
