Oil prices higher

Oil prices edged higher in Asian trade Thursday, supported by upbeat US economic data and fears over supply disruptions in the Middle East, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained eight cents to $107.15 and Brent North Sea crude for April delivery was up 12 cents to $122.78 in the afternoon.

"Crude oil jumped back to positive territory...

as the Federal Reserve said that the US economy expanded modestly in January through mid-February," said Ker Chung Yang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures.

"Worries that global oil markets might be short of fuel as the United States and Europe impose sanctions on Iran also kept oil futures supported," he said in a market commentary.

The US Commerce Department on Wednesday said the world's biggest economy grew faster than initially believed in the fourth quarter of 2011 at an annual 3.0 percent, even as the Federal Reserve warned of a slower pace this year. The Commerce Department said the improvement was due in part to positive contributions from consumer spending and private inventory investments. AFP