Oil mixed in Asian trade

SINGAPORE: Oil prices were mixed in Asian trade Thursday, as investors weighed concerns over a supply disruption in the Middle East and a surge in US crude stockpiles, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April was up 25 cents to $105.68 while Brent North Sea crude for April delivery shed eight cents to $124.89 in morning trade.

"Crude prices have broadly stalled, albeit at relatively high levels," said Sanjeev Gupta, head of the Asia-Pacific oil and gas practice at financial services firm Ernst & Young.

"Supply concerns are keeping prices elevated, but concerns are rising that high prices will undermine potential demand growth," he said in a commentary.

Figures released Wednesday by the US Department of Energy (DoE) showed crude stocks were at a nine-month high after rising by 2.5 million barrels last week. A rise in crude inventory is seen as a sign of weakening demand.

The DoE in the weekly report said total products supplied to the market over the past four weeks were down 5.4 percent from a year ago, with unseasonably warm weather continuing across much of the country.

Meanwhile, continued tensions between crude producer Iran and the West remain a key concern for traders, analysts said.

Iran on Wednesday condemned what it said was the use of oil as a political tool against producers, referring to Western sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme.

Tehran has repeatedly said its nuclear activities are exclusively peaceful. (AFP)