SINGAPORE (Commodity Online) : World oil prices remained above $80 a barrel in Asian trade Thursday after an overnight rally based on higher stocks.

Light sweet crud for April delivery was seen trading at $80.11 a barrel at 11.30 a.m Singapore time while Brent crude was at $ 78.29 a barrel at the same time.

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Analysts said the black gold advanced despite the US Energy Information Administration reported that oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels last week and that supplies are still well above average for this time of year.

The Energy Department reported fuel consumption rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier to 19.1 million barrels a day in the four weeks ended Feb. 19.

They said the US stocks rally that gave investors hope that oil demand will pick up in the second half of the year on an improving economy also helped.

But the real momentum came after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. economy is in a nascent recovery.

Bernanke said a slack labor market and low inflation will allow the Federal Open Market Committee to keep its benchmark lending rate low for an extended period. The rate has been in a range of zero to 0.25 percent for more than a year.

On Wednesday, April delivery rose $1.14 to settle at $80 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude gained 84 cents to settle at $78.09 on the ICE futures exchange.

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