Monday, October 3 2005 09:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Singapore: Oil prices were higher in Asian trade today (Oct 03, 2005) as investors began to worry about heating oil supplies with the northern hemisphere winter fast approaching, dealers said.

At 10:20 am (local time), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, rose nine cents to 66.33 dollars a barrel from its close of 66.24 dollars in the United States Friday.

With US refineries in the Gulf of Mexico region still struggling to resume full operations in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, concerns are mounting that heating oil supplies will be tight when winter starts, dealers said.

"The worry is that now we are heading into the northern hemisphere winter season and the focus will be on heating oil," said Victor Shum, an analyst with US energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz in Singapore.

"Refineries are having a slow recovery," he said. US President George W. Bush has appealed to Americans to conserve energy, notably by driving less, as the country's refineries struggle to get over the impact of Katrina and more recently of Rita.