WTI, Brent higher in Friday trade

Crude oil prices were higher on Friday as it remained uncertain how long or how much production will be affected at a Port Arthur, Texas refinery that was hit by a power outage and fire on Thursday and even though North Sea oil platforms shut down by bad weather were said to be coming back online with no reports of damage.

December contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up 94 cents to $96.40 per barrel near the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude was 27 cents higher to $93.06 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Analysts are not unanimous about where crude prices are headed, with some predicting a gain to $100 per barrel soon while others believe that there will soon be a significant decline in oil prices.

Nymex December gasoline added 2 cents to $2.46 per gallon while December heating oil gained 3 cents to $2.63 per gallon and January natural gas was up 17 cents to $8.29 per million British thermal units.