Oil prices rose in Asia Thursday, buoyed by a lower-than-expected gain in US crude stockpiles and hopes of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB), analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June added 47 cents to $91.90 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for June delivery increased 40 cents to $102.13.

New York oil prices gained more than $2 following an unexpected drop in US gasoline inventories and speculation the European Central Bank will soon cut interest rates. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery gained $2.25 on the New York Mercantile Exchange to settle at $91.43 a barrel, the highest level since April 11. In London, Brent crude for June delivery rose $1.42 to $101.73 a barrel. The US market reacted strongly to "the big drop in gasoline inventory which was a bit of a surprise," said Michael Lynch of Strategic Energy and Economic Research.

Oil prices rose slightly in Asia Wednesday on cautious hopes of a rise in energy demand in the United States, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, added 45 cents to $89.63 a barrel in the afternoon and Brent North Sea crude for June delivery gained 25 cents to $100.56. "There is an underlying growth-in-demand prospect with the upcoming US stockpiles data. This is fuelling positive sentiment and balancing generally softer economic data," Jason Hughes, head of sales trading at CMC Markets in Singapore, told AFP.

Oil prices eased in Asia on Tuesday as data showing weak Chinese manufacturing activity fuelled concerns over demand in the world's second-largest economy, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June dropped 66 cents to $88.53 a barrel on its first day of trade, while Brent North Sea crude for June shed 69 cents to $99.70 in the afternoon. "Chinese growth is definitely slower and people are pricing that in," Kelly Teoh, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore, told AFP.