United States (U.S.) crude oil futures rose yesterday as unrest in Nigeria and a fire at a Sunoco refinery in the U.S. Northeast helped lift crude oil and products prices.

Nigerian militants said Sunday they had blown up two oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta.

The NYMEX June crude contract expires on Today. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude CLM9 was up $1.44, or 2.56 per cent, at $57.78 a barrel, trading from $56.12 to $58.38.

In London, front-month, July Brent crude LCON9 rose $1.73, or 3.09 per cent, to $57.71 a barrel, trading from $55.91 to $58.25.

NYMEX June RBOB RBM9 rose 4.74 cents, or 2.82 per cent, to $1.7280 a gallon, trading from $1.6770 to $1.7485, well above resistance charted at $1.7290, while June heating oil HOM9 rose 4.28 cents, or 3.02 per cent, to $1.4616 a gallon, trading from $1.4130 to $1.4766.

"Crude has been bolstered by the unrest occurring in Nigeria, where militants have declared an all out war on the oil industry," Addison Armstrong, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut, said in a research note.

"Two traditional market elements are also at work today. Sunoco suffered a fire at his Marcus Hook refinery, and speculators have shifted to the long side according to Friday's (CFTC) Commitments (of Traders) report," John Kilduff, senior vice president at MF Global in New York, said in a report.

Sunoco Inc. said it will boost production at its Philadelphia and New Jersey refineries to make up for output lost at its Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, plant due to a Sunday night explosion and fire in an ethylene unit.

The refinery fire came with the traditional start of the U.S. summer driving season approaching with the Memorial Day three-day weekend approaching and after a big drop in gasoline inventories reported in government data released last week.