Oil prices rise as US supply worries linger after winter storm

Oil prices gained further ground on Wednesday as supply concerns lingered after a winter storm disrupted US crude output and exports, while Middle East tensions lent additional support. Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $67.85 a barrel by 0410 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $62.74 a barrel. Both benchmarks surged about 3% on Tuesday. US producers lost up to 2 million barrels per day or roughly 15% of national output over the weekend, analysts and traders estimated, as the storm strained energy infrastructure and power grids. Crude and liquefied natural gas exports from US Gulf Coast ports tumbled to zero on Sunday, ship tracking service Vortexa said. A loss of production in Kazakhstan is also underpinning the rally, Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities, said.