Oil prices extended their rally in Asian trade today on the heels of a larger-than-expected decrease in energy stockpiles in the US, analysts said.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, rose 46 cents to $77.13 a barrel.
Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 12 cents to $75.57.
The Christmas eve market surge was largely driven by a fall in US energy inventories that was far larger than expected, analysts said.
Prices were lifted "given the overall draws in the statistics," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of oil market research group Petromatrix GmbH.
Data released by the US Department of Energy yesterday showed stockpiles of crude dropping by 4.9 million barrels to 327.5 million in the week ending December 18, beating analyst expectations of a 1.1 million barrel drawback.
Distillate inventories also slid 3.1 million barrels last week, against analyst forecasts of a 1.6 million barrel fall.
Data for distillates, which include heating oil, is in focus as winter starts to bite in the US and Europe.
However, analysts cautioned that despite the fall in US crude stockpiles, inventory levels were still high in the world's largest energy consumer.