NEW YORK (AP):

Oil prices jumped more than US$1 per barrel Friday, led by gains for heating fuels, in another volatile trading day for crude.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose US$1.40 to settle at US$59.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dipping as low as US$57.59 earlier in the session.

Helping to push up prices was a U.S. warning that Nigerian militants may be planning to expand their activities beyond the restive southern petroleum-producing regions.

Possible targets

The Lagos-based consulate said possible targets could include expatriate personnel, Western businesses or facilities and locales visited by tourists and foreigners.

Citigroup Futures Research energy analyst Tim Evans said traders were also taking a second look at natural-gas inventory numbers released Thursday, which helped boost heating fuel prices.

Last week's withdrawal of 259 billion cubic feet from underground storage was short of some analysts' expectations, but it was the biggest since 1997, he said.

Natural gas prices rose 21.1 cents to US$7.503 per 1,000 cubic feet, and heating oil prices rose 4.63 cents to US$1.6734 a gallon, helping to lead up crude prices.

Brent crude rose US$1.35 to US$58.95 on London's ICE futures exchange.

Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading Corp. said traders also may have been skeptical about forecasts for warmer weather for the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it expects above-normal temperatures next week to end a spate of freezing weather in the U.S. Northeast, which accounts for 80 per cent of the nation's heating oil demand.

Price swings

Oil price swings have become the norm recently, as 11 of the prior 16 sessions saw daily moves of more than US$1, Cameron Hanover's Peter Beutel wrote in a research report. On Thursday, prices dropped more than US$1 before settling down just a penny.

Analysts said the upcoming three-day weekend, with the Nymex closed on President's Day, and the March oil contract's expiring on Tuesday may also have pushed up volatility.

In other Nymex trading, gasolene futures rose 4.81 cents to US$1.6453 per gallon.

Oil price swings have become the norm recently, as 11 of the prior 16 sessions saw daily moves of more than US$1